HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Catering

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many customers used the Jubilee Café in the last year; what proportion of customers only purchased drinks; and what proportion of customers purchased food.

John Thurso: In the 12 months to December 2011, a total of 74,209 transactions were recorded in the Jubilee Café. A transaction is defined as a purchase, with payment, at the point of sale. The purchase may be for one or multiple customers paid for in a single transaction.
	No record is kept of the proportion of customers purchasing drinks only or purchasing food in the Jubilee Café.
	The hon. Lady might find it helpful to speak directly to the Director of Catering and Retail Services on these detailed matters.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Leader of the House whether his Office publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

George Young: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 30 January 2012, Official Report, column 415W.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service: Translation Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Crown Prosecution Service spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spent the following amounts on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five financial years:
	
		
			  Expenditure (£) 
			 2006-07 1,340,401 
			 2007-08 1,521,351 
			 2008-09 1,639,160 
			 2009-10 1,787,386 
			 2010-11 2,065,813

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Attorney-General whether the Law Officers' Departments publishes on their websites their response to each request they receive under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of their websites on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on their websites.

Dominic Grieve: The Attorney-General's Office (AGO), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Treasury Solicitors Department (TSol) or Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) do not currently publish FOI responses on their websites.
	The Serious Fraud Office publishes responses on its website where it has provided information, either wholly or partially. No record is kept on the time taken between responding to such requests and their publication on the website.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General what contribution the Law Officers' Departments are making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to the principles of the compact in its engagement with a range of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Such engagement takes place on a regular basis both at a national and local level through set structures.
	At a national level engagement takes place on a quarterly basis through the Community Accountability Forum (CAF), which includes as its membership national CSOs. National engagement also takes place on specific policies to help ensure that these take on board the perspective, views and concerns of communities and are responsive to need.
	At a local level the CPS has established Local Scrutiny and Involvement Panels (LSIPs), whose membership includes local CSOs, in order to meaningfully and regularly engage on local issues and concerns and to improve transparency. A range of other engagement and partnership working takes place locally on specific local issues and concerns—examples include violence against women and girls crimes and hate crimes.
	In relation to volunteering, the CPS successfully launched its Pro Bono and Volunteers Network (CPVN) in June 2009 in order to enable staff to take an active role in volunteering in the community.
	The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) aims to ensure that it works in partnership with Civil Society Organisation (CSO) to achieve common goals and outcomes for the benefit of communities and citizens in England. The SFO achieves this in a number of ways.
	The SFO works with the Witness Service, Victim Support and Public Concern at work to support the victims of fraud and whistleblowers. The SFO also supports events to raise public awareness of serious economic crime. These events are often run by CSO's such as Transparency International and Aged Concern.
	As part of its commitment to equality and diversity the SFO works with Stonewall to promote a fairer workplace.
	Finally the SFO sponsors a volunteering scheme to enable members of staff to get involved with local projects to support the Big Society.
	The Attorney-General's Office, Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSOL) and the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate do not have direct working relationships with CSO's because of the nature of their work is focused on providing services to other Government Departments. Consequently they are not involved in designing or delivering services, programmes or policies for citizens and communities, or providing funding to any civil society organisations.
	TSol does however have a number of staff who volunteer on a regular basis for the GLS Pro Bono Network, and provides special leave for those who act as a magistrate, school governor or trustee of a charity. In addition the Department allows staff one day's paid special leave per year to undertake 'community or voluntary work which is for the benefit of others outside their immediate friends and family.

SCOTLAND

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office publishes its response to each request where the request is granted in full and other responses where there is a substantial public interest in the information being disclosed. We also keep our criteria for disclosure under regular review.
	Latest releases are routinely published on the Scotland Office website at:
	http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/15263.141.html
	and releases relating to previous years can be viewed at:
	http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/9794.142.html
	The average time taken between responding to a request and the information being available on the Scotland Office website is not readily available without incurring disproportionate cost; however, responses are published each month. Requests responded to in December 2011 have already been published, and requests responded to in January 2012 will be published in early February.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Statistics

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what occasions the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority has written to him expressing concern about his Department's use of statistics since May 2010.

Chris Grayling: Correspondence between the UK Statistics Authority and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), is published on the authority's website and has been placed in the Library:
	http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/reports---correspondence/correspondence/index.html

Employment and Support Allowance: HIV Infection

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he (a) last met and (b) next plans to meet representatives of HIV organisations to discuss ways of improving the work capability assessment handbook and other guidance material used by Atos.

Chris Grayling: Ministers and officials hold regular meetings about the work capability assessment (WCA) with a range of stakeholders including those representing people with HIV. The National Aids Trust were represented at ministerial launch of the second independent review of the WCA on 24 November 2011. The National Aids Trust are also part of the group of stakeholders Professor Harrington has asked to look at the way the WCA accounts for fluctuating conditions. Their report was submitted to the Department during late November and we are considering these proposals closely.

Employment and Support Allowance: HIV Infection

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will ensure that HIV awareness training is delivered to staff of (a) his Department and (b) Atos.

Chris Grayling: The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) trains its staff in the skills required to support a range of customers and claimants and to respect their individual needs. This approach ensures that our employees are equipped to deal with a diverse set of circumstances while treating everyone as an individual.
	The learning programme for DWP focuses on raising awareness of the claimants' personal circumstances and also recognises that disabilities and health conditions can affect individuals in different ways and will change over time.
	(a) DWP staff receive learning which covers excellent customer service, diversity and customer needs. This learning deals with the wide range of circumstances that our claimants may have, some less obvious than others, and stresses how important it is to look for signs where the claimant does not give us this information directly and to offer appropriate support.
	A number of job roles within DWP, including front facing staff, visiting officers and decision makers undertake training which raises awareness of HIV related illness and how this affects individuals. Specifically, an event called ‘Raising the Game’ is aimed at elevating staffs awareness of disability and perceptions of disabled people. This national event includes information on HIV and AIDS.
	All DWP staff have access to information about HIV through guidance on the DWP intranet.
	(b) All Atos health care professionals receive an evidence-based protocol on HIV/AIDS as part of their new entrant training. In addition they have access to a learning set on HIV/AIDs as part of the Atos programme of continuing medical education.

Employment Schemes: Third Sector

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he intends to publish data on the level of referrals to voluntary and community sector providers under the Work programme; how often such data will be published; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: Voluntary and community sector providers delivering the Work programme are represented at all levels i.e. as prime providers and as tier one, and tier two, supply chain partners. The Department has no plans to publish data for referrals below prime provider level or to release information by sector.
	Work programme Official Statistics, including referrals data, will be published for the first time on 21 February 2012 with subsequent publications published quarterly, and will be prepared in accordance with the code of practice for Official Statistics.
	The Department for Work and Pensions has commissioned a consortium led by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) to undertake an independent evaluation of the Work programme. Evaluation work started in autumn 2011 and will conclude in 2014.

New Deal Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual contract value of the Flexible New Deal was in each contract package area between October 2009 and the close of the programme.

Chris Grayling: The information you requested is contained in table 1 as follows, which shows annual contract values for each flexible new deal contract package area (CPA) from October 2009 to the close of the programme.
	
		
			 Table 1: Flexible new deal spend by contract package area and year 
			 Spend  £ million 
			 CPA Districts Oct ober 20 09 to Sep tember 20 10 Oct ober 20 10 to  t ermination 
			 CPA01 Ayrshire, Dumfries, Galloway and Inverclyde; Edinburgh, Lothian and borders 37.3 17.9 
			 CPA02 North East Yorkshire and the Humber; Tees Valley 44.8 22.6 
			 CPA03 Greater Manchester Central; Greater Manchester West and East 41.7 21.6 
			 CPA04 Derbyshire; South Yorkshire 38.6 19.6 
			 CPA05 South East Wales, North and Mid Wales 19.7 10.3 
			 CPA06 Coventry and Warwickshire; The Marches; Staffordshire 39.9 15.9 
			 CPA07 Leicestershire and Northamptonshire; Nottinghamshire 40.2 21.3 
			 CPA08 Cambridgeshire and Suffolk; Lincolnshire and Rutland; Norfolk 34.7 16.8 
			 CPA09 Birmingham and Solihull 43.1 15.7 
			 CPA10 Black Country 31.0 17.4 
			 CPA11 South West Wales, South Wales Valleys 20.4 11.8 
			 CPA12 Central London; Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth 55.1 24.6 
			 CPA13 Surrey and Sussex; Kent 46.8 21.4 
			 CPA14 Devon and Cornwall 12.8 7.0 
			 All  505.8 244.0 
			 Source: DWP accounting system. 
		
	
	The costs to termination includes spending on exit costs due to the early termination of flexible new deal contracts arising from roll-out of the new Work programme. Negotiations with two service providers have not yet been concluded and therefore the final figures may change.

Pensioners: Housing Benefit

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of social housing tenants likely to be affected by the proposed changes to housing benefit relating to under-occupancy who will be pensioners.

Steve Webb: The information is not available.
	The introduction of size criteria from 2013/14 for housing benefit claimants living in the social rented sector will only affect working-age claimants.
	The age threshold for distinguishing working-age from pension-age for benefit purposes is generally based upon the qualifying age for pension credit. This age threshold is gradually increasing over time. A small number of claimants over this age threshold may choose to claim a working-age benefit, such as income-based jobseeker's allowance instead of pension credit. These claimants would also be treated as working-age for housing benefit purposes.
	For couples currently claiming housing benefit, both the claimant and their partner need to be under the qualifying age for pension credit to be treated as working-age. When universal credit is introduced, if either member in a couple is under the qualifying age for pension credit then the couple would be treated as working-age. They would then be expected to access universal credit rather than pension credit.
	It is intended that those already in receipt of pension credit at the point of change will be protected, and continue to receive pension credit as long as they continue to meet the other qualifying conditions.

Unemployed People: Mental Illness

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on the assessment of mental health disorders amongst people undergoing return-to-work interviews at jobcentres.

Chris Grayling: I am not aware of any representations in relation to the specific question asked. However, it is Jobcentre Plus policy to develop its people in the skills required to support a range of customers with a variety of health conditions, including mental health conditions. This approach ensures that they are equipped to deal with a diverse set of circumstances whilst treating customers as individuals. Skilled employment advisers look at the interaction between the person, the job and an individual's ability, advisers ensure that job goals relate to the persons' abilities and that work solutions are sought which overcome any barriers a customer might face in a particular job.
	All Jobcentre Plus staff who require a basic introduction to mental illness and working with customers with a diagnosis of mental illness have the opportunity to attend a one day event which discusses what mental illness is, how it is viewed, and provides an understanding of the mental illness spectrum.

Unemployed People: Mental Illness

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants undertaking return-to-work interviews have (a) indicated they have ongoing mental health disorders, (b) subsequently been placed on jobseeker's allowance and (c) appealed against a decision to place them on jobseeker's allowance; and what the outcome of such appeals was in each of the last 18 months.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on which date he expects all applications for in-work support to be for universal credit rather than tax credits.

Chris Grayling: The universal credit migration approach published on 1 November set out how DWP will start to take new claims to universal credit from October 2013 and that new claims to the current benefits and credits will gradually be phased out, with claims to tax credits ending in April 2014.
	Work continues with HMRC and local authorities to understand the precise timing and detail of how this will work, but this approach will ensure that universal credit is phased in safely from October 2013, minimising the risk to claimants.
	Once agreed, the DWP will keep the approach under regular review as it recognises that this needs to be flexible enough the respond to national and local circumstances as they change in the years before the migration to universal credit is concluded in 2017.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether it is his policy that tenants should normally submit their documents by post rather than over the counter when making applications for universal credit.

Chris Grayling: My Department is currently working on its plans for gathering the evidence required to support a universal credit claim, and is yet to reach a conclusion on this issue.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many stream 2 referrals were made in relation to Atos healthcare professionals in the last year for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: Atos has received inquiries from the GMC relating to 19 doctors during 2011 that were categorised as stream 2 by the GMC.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising: Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what powers he has to oversee advertisements for abortion services by for-profit organisations before they are broadcast; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The advertising rule changes recently announced relate to the provision of post-conception advice services not abortion services.
	The controls on the broadcast advertising of post-conception advice services are the responsibility of the advertising regulators, Ofcom, the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). These bodies are independent of Government and they set the standards for all broadcast advertising.
	The Government have no powers to review advertisements before they are broadcast.

Departmental Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department has agreed any contracts with (a) private hire vehicle and (b) taxi companies since May 2010.

John Penrose: No contracts have been agreed with either (a) private hire vehicle or (b) taxi companies since May 2010.

Departmental Work Experience

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what work experience or traineeship schemes his Department offers to minority groups.

John Penrose: This Department provided two students with a two-week work experience placement in 2011, as part of the Whitehall Internship Scheme which provides internships and work experience for people from under-represented groups, including black, Asian and ethnic minority communities. We are aiming to offer the same opportunities this year to students in the scheme.

Historic Buildings

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps the Government has taken to encourage the public to visit historic buildings since May 2010.

John Penrose: English Heritage promotes access and visiting to over 400 historic sites—from castles to country houses—using advertising, public relations, social media and other forms of marketing communication. In 2010-11, English Heritage sites attracted 5.5 million visitors. Its significant thematic events programme, which includes historic re-enactments amongst a broader range of activities, is an important part of attracting visitors. Additionally, its membership programme now involves around 800,000 individuals, with this number continuing to grow. Members receive special publications including a handbook of all English Heritage sites, a members' magazine called, Heritage Today and a dedicated all year events programme.

Historic Buildings: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps the Government has taken to promote the preservation of historic buildings in the West Midlands since May 2010.

John Penrose: In the West Midlands, English Heritage provided £1.35 million in 2010-11 and £1.39 million in 2011-12 towards the preservation of historic buildings, monuments and landscapes.
	English Heritage has published a West Midlands Heritage at Risk Register each year since 2008: the most recent edition was released in October 2011. Throughout the year English Heritage works with a number of partners to move heritage assets off the register. For the first time, in 2011 English Heritage published a list of priority sites—important heritage at risk sites in the West Midlands where it will focus its resources to secure their future.
	Since 2002 English Heritage has co-ordinated the production of Heritage Counts West Midlands—the annual report on the state of the historic environment—on behalf of the local historic environment sector. Since May 2010, two editions of this annual publication have raised awareness about the work of a wide range of public, voluntary and charitable organisations from across the heritage sector. The 2011 West Midlands region Heritage Counts
	http://hc.english-heritage.org.uk/content/pub/2011/hc-2011-west-midlands.pdf
	reports that in the region there are 1,423 Scheduled Monuments, 615 Grade I Listed Buildings, 2,144 Grade II* Listed Buildings and 31,481 Grade II Listed Buildings. It also states that Heritage Lottery Fund made awards worth £12.8 million in 2010-11.
	Nearly 310,500 people visited English Heritage's staffed sites in the West Midlands in 2010-11.

Olympic Games 2012: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received on the recognition of Northern Ireland in the name of the UK squad for the London 2012 Olympic Games; and what discussions he has had with the British Olympic Association on that matter.

Hugh Robertson: There have been no recent representations. The issue was raised in a paper at the Sports Cabinet in February 2011, following which the Welsh Minister for Heritage, in his capacity as Chair of the meeting, wrote on behalf of the Sports Cabinet to ask the British Olympic Association (BOA) to consider changing the name and branding of Team GB to better reflect the whole of the UK.

PhonepayPlus

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what information his Department holds on how many companies were investigated by PhonepayPlus in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Edward Vaizey: Information of this nature is not held by the Department. PhonepayPlus is independent from Government and delivers the day-to-day regulation of Premium Rate Services (PRS) on behalf of Ofcom, under the terms of the Communications Act 2003.

PhonepayPlus

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many complaints his Department received about PhonepayPlus in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Edward Vaizey: No complaints have been received. Ofcom has responsibility and accountability for the regulation of premium rate services under the terms of the Communications Act 2003 and has designated PhonepayPlus to deliver the day-to-day regulation through their code of practice.

RTE: Northern Ireland

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what progress he has made on the memorandum of understanding between the UK and Ireland on the availability of RTE in Northern Ireland.

Edward Vaizey: Considerable progress has been made in facilitating the provision of the Irish television services, RTE1, RTE2 and TG4 in Northern Ireland since the signing, on 1 February 2010, of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of UK and Ireland aimed at providing a framework for co-operation on broadcasting issues in Northern Ireland.
	RTE and TG4 are currently in the process of forming a not-for-profit joint venture that will be responsible for the procurement and installation of the transmission facilities to deliver RTE1, RTE2 and TG4 in Northern Ireland. Both Governments have reached agreement on the technical standards to be used for transmitting these services from transmitters in Northern Ireland, and the frequency plans for these transmitters have been agreed internationally.

World War I

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to (a) publish a register of and (b) protect war memorials and other monuments to those who died in World War One;
	(2)  if he will include the protection, restoration and promotion of memorials and other monuments in his plans to mark the centenary of the outbreak of World War One.

John Penrose: The United Kingdom Inventory of War Memorials, based at the Imperial War Museum, is working to compile a record of all war memorials in the UK and to promote their appreciation, use and preservation. Further details are available at:
	http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/
	The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is taking forward plans for a War Memorial Action Group (WMAG) to consider the recording, understanding and protection and repair of war memorials. The membership of the WMAG will comprise DCMS, funders, heritage organisations and representatives of the local and voluntary sectors.
	Around 1,200 war memorials are listed or scheduled and subject to the protections afforded by those designation regimes. In addition, English Heritage is working in partnership with local authorities, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and concerned local groups on the Heritage Crime Programme. This programme aims to protect vulnerable buildings and sites, including war memorials, from all threats, particularly metal theft and criminal damage.
	English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation, in association with the War Memorials Trust, have provided over £757,000 for the repair and conservation of free-standing war memorials in England. Furthermore, this Department's Memorial Grant Scheme makes grants equivalent to the value added tax incurred by charities and faith groups in erecting, maintaining or repairing public memorials, including war memorials. HLF has also launched a new initiative to encourage applications for projects related to the centenaries of the First World War.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with (a) the European Commission, (b) its counterparts in other EU member states and (c) representatives of the agriculture sector on the future of agri-environment schemes linking greening measures to payments; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The European Commission published proposals to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on 12 October 2011. We are actively engaged in discussions with the Commission to understand and clarify how the proposals will impact on those directly affected by the CAP, including the proposals on ‘greening’. We are also in discussion with other Member States with similar interests.
	The Department holds regular formal and informal discussions with representatives of the agricultural and other sectors on a whole range of CAP Reform issues.
	On 12 December 2011 we published a discussion paper in England seeking views from farmers, environmental groups, rural communities, non-governmental organisations and other interested parties on how these proposals may impact on the different sectors affected by the CAP. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are undertaking separate consultation activities. All these views will inform the UK's negotiating position.
	The discussion paper specifically asks for views on the 'greening' proposal:
	whether it would provide environmental benefits; whether it should be compulsory;
	what land should be targeted in a farm's ecological focus area; and
	whether organic farms should be exempt from the proposed requirement.

Bees: Pesticides

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department is carrying out on the mechanisms by which honey bees are exposed to agricultural pesticides; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has funded research on the potential impact of pesticides on honeybees, through direct or indirect exposure, both from wide scale professional use in agriculture and other sectors, and from home-garden use. Information can be found on the science and research project database on DEFRA’s website. Research on the impact of chemicals on the learning capacity and performance of honeybees is being carried out under the Insect Pollinators Initiative, which is a joint initiative between DEFRA, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council, the Scottish Executive and the Wellcome Trust.
	The rigorous process for authorisation of pesticides protects human health and the environment, including honey bees, providing products are used in accordance with the authorisation. The pesticides regulator, the Health and Safety Executive's Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD), is involved with the development of bee risk assessment methodology. The CRD will continue to monitor research and developments in other EU member states and elsewhere for relevance to the UK. Government scientists are involved in a number of major international initiatives, such as the European Commission's plan for Honeybee Health, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Pesticides Effects on Insect Pollinators initiative and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry's work on the pesticides risk assessment for pollinators (honeybees and non-Apis bees).

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many confirmed breakdowns of bovine tuberculosis were recorded in the area covered by the random badger culling trials in the year following the last proactive cull of badgers; and how many such breakdowns were recorded in the same area in the previous year.

James Paice: During the lifetime of the randomised badger culling trial, proactive culling of badgers led to a 23% reduction in bovine TB incidence in cattle herds in the culled areas when compared to survey-only areas. However, there was a 25% increase in incidence in the surrounding 2km of un-culled ring adjacent to proactively culled areas when compared to survey-only areas.
	More detailed results from this analysis can be found in the scientific paper by Christl Donnelly and colleagues available at:
	http://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(07)00071-9/fulltext

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how cases of bovine tuberculosis have been recorded in the last 12 months for which figures are available after a proactive cull of badgers; and how many such cases were recorded in the previous 12 months.

James Paice: Ongoing monitoring since the end of the randomised badger culling trial has shown that the positive impacts on herd breakdowns within the culled areas were maintained for at least six years after culling stopped and that the negative effect on herd breakdowns in the surrounding areas had disappeared by 1.5 years after culling stopped. When cattle TB incidence figures from the period after culling are included, the benefits of proactive culling are greater than those observed during the trial itself.
	The latest scientific paper published on these results analyses cattle breakdown rates from the time of the first cull to four years after the last cull. Over this period, there was a 28.7% reduction in TB cattle herd incidence in proactively culled areas,
	and TB herd incidence within the 2km-wide ring around the culling areas was comparable with that in survey-only areas. Data collection in these areas is ongoing, and the most recent update shows a reduction in TB incidence in cattle due to culling persists up to six years after the last cull.
	More details of this analysis can be found in the scientific paper available at:
	http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0009090

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of progress in developing a useable vaccine for bovine TB.

James Paice: An injectable badger vaccine is available for use on prescription. We are working hard to develop an injectable vaccine for cattle and an oral badger vaccine, but there are still significant technical, practical and legal issues to overcome before these vaccines will be available It is not possible to say when they will be ready to be deployed in the field.

Bracken

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance her Department has issued on the effective control of bracken in upland areas.

Richard Benyon: Natural England, the Government's adviser on the natural environment, publishes guidance on the control of bracken, on DEFRA's behalf, which is available on Natural England's website and via its Wildlife Licensing Unit. The published guidance offers general advice on the control of bracken and also contains specific reference to its control in upland areas.
	The Government are concerned about the EU decision not to approve asulam, as this is an important method of controlling bracken in upland areas. The Health and Safety Executive's Chemicals Regulation Directorate is in discussion with the manufacturer regarding a new submission to support EU approval of asulam.

British Waterways

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate she has made of the likely cost of (a) repairs, (b) dredging and (c) pension liabilities in respect of British Waterways in the next 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Repairs are an operational matter for British Waterways (BW), and will be a matter for the Canal & River Trust (CRT) once the assets and functions of BW in England and Wales are transferred to it. BW has a robust asset management process, enabling prioritisation of repairs which have the greatest impact on operations and health and safety. This asset management process will continue when the assets transfer to CRT.
	Dredging is also an operational matter for BW and it applies a risk-based prioritisation to its maintenance expenditure. The Government require BW to operate and maintain waterways to standards that reflect use and prospects of use. BW estimates that the cost of clearing the current backlog of dredging would be approximately £40 million. BW has not set a timescale for dealing with the dredging backlog because it is subject to BW's need to prioritise expenditure on its major infrastructure assets and therefore it is not possible to confirm which dredging works will remain outstanding when the charity is vested. However, BW prioritises dredging at locations that cause particular boating constraints. Once BW's assets and functions are transferred to CRT, it will be a matter for the Trust to prioritise expenditure on the operation and maintenance of the waterways.
	With regard to pension liabilities, the last triennial valuation of the BW pension fund was carried out by the Scheme Actuary on 31 March 2010. The actuarial valuation of the British Waterways Pension Fund pension deficit was £65.6 million. No formal valuation has been prepared since March 2010, although estimated updates have been prepared by the Scheme Actuary for the pension fund Trustees.
	The Government are negotiating a long term funding agreement with the Trustees of CRT. Those negotiations are considering a range of issues which could impact on funding to maintain the canal network, including the costs of repairs and maintenance and future liabilities arising from CRT's pension arrangements.
	The outcome of the negotiations will be announced before the Government lay the necessary order under the Public Bodies Act to transfer British Waterways' functions to CRT.

Dairy Farming

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the dairy industry on her Department's support for the industry.

James Paice: In recent months I have met with representatives of dairy farmers, processors and retailers on a number of occasions. On 23 November, I chaired the latest meeting of the Dairy Supply Chain Forum which includes key people from the whole supply chain. This is an important vehicle for encouraging progress with initiatives such as Dairy 2020 (considering how the industry can work together to secure a sustainable future), the Dairy Roadmap (managing environmental impacts), and a voluntary code of contractual best practice.

Departmental Renewable Energy

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department is on target to achieve its commitment to generating 15 per cent. of energy from renewable sources by 2020; and what recent assessment she has made of progress towards meeting this commitment.

Gregory Barker: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
	In December 2011 we submitted our first Progress Report to the European Commission, as required under the Renewable Energy Directive. This shows that at the end of 2010 (the latest data available) 3.3% of our energy came from renewable sources, and that we are currently on track to meet our first interim target of 4% over 2011-12. The Progress Report can be downloaded from our website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/renewable_ener/renewable_ener.aspx

Droughts: East of England

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the (a) risk of drought and (b) recent dry weather conditions in (i) Essex and (ii) the east of England; and what assessment she has made of the effect of such weather conditions on the region's farmers and agricultural sector.

Richard Benyon: The east of England received 71% of the normal long term average rainfall for 2011, making it the driest year since 1921. The rainfall we have had so far in January should help to start easing the situation for Essex and other areas in the east of England in the short-term to enable farmers to begin refilling their reservoirs.
	The Environment Agency's Drought Prospects report was published in December and is currently being updated. It has highlighted that even with average rainfall over the winter and spring, there is unlikely to be a full recovery from drought conditions during 2012, and this may cause significant agricultural impacts. There is a high possibility that without above average rainfall there will be voluntary and formal abstraction restrictions for Essex rivers in late spring/summer.

Echinococcus Multilocularis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the EU derogation for echinococcus multilocularis still applies to the UK; and what measures are in place to prevent dogs from bringing this infection into the UK.

James Paice: The UK has successfully argued to maintain its controls against the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. From 1 January 2012 import controls relating to this tapeworm have been implemented under EU Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 1152/2011. This regulation lays down the tapeworm import conditions which pet dogs must comply with when being moved into the UK from other countries. Under these rules, all dogs must be treated by a vet against tapeworm not less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours (1-5 days) before its scheduled arrival time in the UK.
	The treatment window of 1-5 days ensures that the risk of this tapeworm entering the UK from pets remains low. The slightly wider treatment window under the new rules balances the need to manage risks in a proportionate way, while helping to increase compliance thereby reducing the risk of untreated animals entering the UK.
	Pet dogs moving to the UK from Ireland, Malta and Finland do not have to meet the tapeworm import conditions as those countries have submitted evidence to the EU Commission to confirm they, like the UK, are tapeworm free.
	Further information for pet owners on the revised pet travel scheme rules is available on the DEFRA website.

Eggs: EU Law

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to how many companies she has written on ensuring that eggs are sourced from production systems which comply with EU Council Directive 1999/74/EC; and how many such companies have not responded.

James Paice: In the autumn of last year I wrote to the Food and Drink Federation and the British Hospitality Association to ask them whether their members could follow the British Retail Consortium's lead and sign up to a voluntary approach to not source conventional caged eggs after 1 January 2012, when the ban on keeping laying hens in conventional cages came into force.
	In addition, I also wrote to Compass who hold a number of Government contracts for catering, and DEFRA officials wrote to the major processors to ask the same question. The list of companies who have made this voluntary pledge is published on the DEFRA website.

Environment Protection

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress she has made on the implementation of the measures contained in the Natural Environment White Paper.

Richard Benyon: The Natural Environment White Paper includes 92 commitments for action. Seven months after publication, seven commitments are complete and good progress has been made including: awarding Local Nature Partnership capacity building funding; selecting 20 Nature Improvement Area applications to go to the second stage of the competition; and launching both the Ecosystem Markets Task Force and the Green Infrastructure Partnership.

Environment Protection: Finance

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which 10 categories of climate change mitigation measures received the highest level of Government funding in each year since 2005; and how much funding was allocated in each case.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA's Adapting to Climate Change programme works across Government Departments to provide evidence, analysis and tools to advise, support and challenge policy development, delivery and prioritisation.
	DEFRA's adaptation-related measures span many policy areas, from farming and the food sector to flood management. The policy area will attribute spending to adaptive measures from its wider budget; however, this level of information is not held centrally.
	DEFRA's accounts are available on its website:
	(1) DEFRA annual report and accounts, 2010-11:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/reports/
	(2) DEFRA departmental reports for previous years:
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/reports/annual.htm
	As impacts of climate change affect all areas of life, Government Departments build the impacts of a changing climate in to what they do and deliver a range of adaptation measures into their own policies and programmes.
	Government Departments prepare their own annual accounts that contain funding details. Information on each Department's Adaption Plan can be found under “departmental adaptation plans” in the “government” section of the Defra website.

Fisheries

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to ensure the illegal fishing allegations made against the Spanish Vidal family network in October 2011 are investigated by the European Commission and the Spanish Government.

Richard Benyon: Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing remains a major threat to the world's fish stocks, its marine biodiversity and the livelihoods and security of coastal communities. I have not intervened in this matter, but would certainly expect the Commission to establish the facts behind the allegations as a matter of urgency, and to take swift action should wrongdoing be found to have occurred. The new EU Control Regulation, 1224/2009, makes clear that the payment of funds to member states is conditional upon respect by the member states of their obligation to ensure compliance with and enforcement of the rules of the common fisheries policy. It also provides the Commission with the necessary powers to suspend or cancel financial assistance where the effectiveness of the measures being financed is, or is likely to be, affected by non-compliance with those rules.

Flood Control: Coastal Areas

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legislative proposals she is considering to reduce levels of bureaucracy affecting landowners undertaking repairs to sea walls.

Richard Benyon: Landowners or others wishing to undertake repairs to sea walls or other flood defences may need to seek a flood defence consent before doing so. We are considering integrating flood defence consents into the Environmental Permitting framework to reduce burdens on applicants, including landowners, and allow regulators to target resources at higher risk activities.

Flood Risk Management

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 19 December 2011, Official Report, columns 140-1WS, on flood risk management, what meetings (a) have taken place since 19 December 2011 and (b) are planned between her Department and HM Treasury to discuss progress on ensuring universal availability of flood insurance from July 2013.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA and HM Treasury have had regular meetings regarding the future of flood insurance beyond June 2013, which is when the current agreement with insurers expires. We will continue to meet regularly as we consider options over the winter months, with the aim of making further announcements in the spring. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings. The Government remain committed to making sure flood insurance remains widely available.

Food

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the economic contribution of the food and drink industry; and what steps she is taking to support the sector.

James Paice: The farming, food and drink sector plays a significant part in our economy. It is worth nearly £85 billion to the UK economy and employs 3.5 million people. Comparing 2010 with 2009 all sectors of the food chain have seen year on year increases in productivity, resulting in a 0.8% rise in total factor productivity of the food chain.
	A sustainable food and farming industry is at the forefront of DEFRA’s aims. We are working to help increase the competitiveness and resilience of farms, fisheries and the whole food chain to ensure a secure, environmentally sustainable and healthy supply of food, for example through the green food project and the recent growth review. The Government is committed to working closely with industry stakeholders to boost exports, promote innovation and encourage further growth, particularly among SMEs through the Agri-food and Drink Exports Forum and the Green Food Project Steering Group. Across the food chain we all have a role in promoting efficiency and competitiveness, sharing research and knowledge to promote best practice, and eliminating waste.
	The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), recently attended the launch of the Food and Drink Federation's 20/20 Vision for growth of the industry and DEFRA will be working with them to help deliver the ambition.
	We have recently published an action plan to promote exports and we will be holding an Innovation for Growth summit in March to raise awareness of the resources for innovation. We will also be holding a competition aimed at helping SMEs carry out pilots or feasibility studies for their innovative ideas.

Forestry Commission

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether she plans to dissolve the Forestry Commission of Great Britain after the removal of Forestry Commission Wales; and whether she has any plans to seek to reclaim any of the costs of any such dissolution from the Welsh Government;
	(2)  what steps she plans to take to maintain links with Forestry Commission Wales to ensure a unified approach to biosecurity in the UK after its removal from the Forestry Commission of Great Britain;
	(3)  what plans she has for future funding of the shared services provided by the Forestry Commission of Great Britain after the removal of Forestry Commission Wales;
	(4)  whether the Forestry Commission of Great Britain will incur any costs as a result of the removal of Forestry Commission Wales; and what estimate she has made of the level of any such costs.

James Paice: The Welsh Government have recently announced their intention to form a single environmental body. This is a matter for the Welsh, but we will be looking to ensure that there is an orderly transfer of work, and that the Welsh Government fund all costs associated with the change, the details of which have still to be determined. It will be important that future working arrangements ensure close working on biosecurity risks and other issues of common interest. The Independent Panel on Forestry is currently reviewing forestry policy in England, including the role of the Forestry Commission in delivering this. The Government will consider its advice before reaching any conclusions on the operation of Forestry Commission GB.

Livestock: Disease Control

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on measures to control the spread of plasmid borne antibiotic resistance in food producing animals.

James Paice: The Government have long promoted the responsible use of all veterinary medicines and works closely with the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance and the British Veterinary Association.
	Plasmid borne antibiotic resistance is not a new phenomenon and has been described for many years. The measures appropriate for the control of plasmid borne antibiotic resistance include those generally applied for the control of all types of antibiotic resistance.

Snares

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to publish the report on the extent of use and humaneness of snares in England and Wales.

James Paice: We hope to publish the report in February 2012.

Sustainable Development: Business

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the introduction of mandatory sustainability reporting for companies.

James Paice: For quoted companies, the Companies Act 2006 already requires that the business review, which is part of a company's annual report, must include information about environmental matters (including the impact of the organisation's business on the environment). This is provided to the extent necessary to give an understanding of the development, performance or position of the firm's business.
	As stated in the Natural Environment White Paper, we will publish new guidance detailing how companies should measure and report their corporate environmental impacts this year.

Territorial Waters

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she last discussed with her EU counterparts UK control over its 12-nautical mile territorial waters.

Richard Benyon: As UK Fisheries Minister, I have recently had discussions on fisheries management arrangements concerning a reformed common fisheries policy (CFP) at November Council, and in the course of other meetings in Brussels during December, with the European Commission, members of the UK and European Parliaments, and ministerial colleagues of other member states.
	As negotiations continue, I will press our case for reform, particularly around the decentralisation of the CFP, thus allowing member states to agree the measures appropriate for the fisheries they share and enabling them to manage marine resources more effectively through better integration of fisheries management with other marine policies.

Territorial Waters

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Fisheries of 14 July 2011, Official Report, columns 472-81, what progress her Department has made on negotiations for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy to restore UK control over its 12 nautical mile territorial waters.

Richard Benyon: As UK Fisheries Minister I am continuing to seek, through negotiations on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, a simplified and decentralised decision-making framework. As part of this I am pressing for clear arrangements providing for member states to take non-discriminatory measures for the conservation and management of fish stocks and to minimise the effect of fishing on the conservation of marine ecosystems within their 12 mile limits. Such measures should apply to all vessels fishing within that zone, no matter what member state they are from.

Trees

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tree planting hectares have been (a) planted and (b) cut down by the Forestry Commission in the last five years.

James Paice: In the last five years (2006-07 to 2010-11) 400 hectares of new woodland were planted and 9,800 hectares were restocked by planting or natural regeneration on the public forest estate in England by the Forestry Commission.
	Information on felling areas which is not held centrally could be provided only at disproportionate cost; however, unless designated for an alternative land use, restocking after clear felling is normally carried out within two to three planting seasons.
	The entire public forest estate has been independently certified for sustainable forest management, which means that the clear felling and restocking practices have been independently audited.

Veterinary Medicine: Fees and Charges

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department provides financial assistance to assist (a) individuals and (b) farms with meeting the cost of veterinary fees; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: DEFRA does not provide financial assistance to either individuals or farmers to meet the cost of veterinary fees.

Veterinary Medicine: Fees and Charges

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the average veterinary fee for (a) individuals and (b) farms in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what information her Department holds on average veterinary costs to farms in each year since 1997 by type of farm.

James Paice: No such records are held by DEFRA and to research and obtain this detailed information would incur a disproportionate cost. There is no statutory control on veterinary fees and as such it is not for Government to intervene in this matter. It is for individual customers to decide whichever veterinary practice most suits their needs.

Veterinary Medicine: Fees and Charges

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on veterinary costs; what response she gave to each such representation; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: DEFRA receives a wide range of representations on veterinary and other issues which, where appropriate, we seek to take account of in formulating policies. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of such representations unless they form part of a formal consultation exercise.

Veterinary Medicine: Fees and Charges

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contribution her Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Civil society organisations make a vital contribution to the delivery of many of DEFRA's objectives and commitments, and our work with the sector is underpinned by the principles set out in the Compact. These principles have been disseminated to all staff in core-DEFRA who are likely to have contact with representatives of civil society.
	Following the publication of DEFRA's refreshed Business Plan later this year, we will take steps to improve our understanding of how effectively DEFRA is complying with Compact principles, and to ensure that the Compact is systematically embedded in the way DEFRA works with civil society.

Waste: Landfill

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of UK waste have been transported to landfill sites abroad since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: Under the UK Plan for Shipments of Waste, exports of waste for disposal, which includes landfill, are prohibited with very few exceptions. No exports for landfill are recorded.

Water Abstraction

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions have taken place between her Department, the Environment Agency and farmers on water abstraction.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA and the Environment Agency officials met agriculture representatives on 19 December 2011 to consider the latest position on the ongoing drought conditions. They discussed the latest Drought Prospects report, and how low groundwater and river flows are limiting normal winter abstraction in drought-affected areas. The Environment Agency advised that it was responding to help licence holders revise their licences where water was available for abstraction.
	The impact of these conditions on farming was outlined by the industry representatives and the options available to farmers were discussed.
	DEFRA and the Environment Agency also had dialogue with the National Farmers Union and Country Land and Business Association on water abstraction issues in relationship to development of the Water White Paper: Water for Life.

Water Abstraction

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has any plans to propose changes to the regulations relating to water abstraction in response to the long-term effects of dry weather and drought conditions on farmers.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency is reviewing its regulatory position to identify any changes that it can make, without detriment to other abstractors or the environment, to assist farmers during the ongoing dry weather.
	DEFRA met with representatives of the agricultural community on 19 December 2011, and the Environment Agency is working closely with the farmers affected by drought to help them access water where it is available, and where appropriate, to change abstraction licences.
	The Water White Paper, ‘Water for Life’, has announced the Government's intention to reform the abstraction licensing regime over the longer term. The new regime will be designed to support adaptation to climate change by abstractors, including farmers.

Water Abstraction

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to simplify the process of application from farmers to vary (a) water abstraction licences and (b) arrangements for water abstraction.

Richard Benyon: We will be looking at changes to water abstraction licences and arrangements for water abstraction while developing and implementing a reformed abstraction regime. This was outlined in the recently published Water White Paper: Water for Life.
	The Environment Agency is committed to assisting farmers with abstraction licence variations brought on by the impacts of the current drought. Where this is appropriate, it will ensure the process is simplified to achieve prompt revisions for applicants.
	Also the Environment Agency is encouraging farmers to come forward early if they have concerns for their water needs and will advise if more water is available. Where licence changes would affect others or involve significant risks to the environment, appropriate detail is required, but assistance is being provided to help with such urgent cases.

Water: Meters

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has estimated the average length of time for which water meters remain accurate.

Richard Benyon: Ofwat estimates that standard water meters last for approximately 15 years. Some "smart", meters can be activated (read) by customers pushing a button and this can shorten the battery life.

Weedkillers

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what guidance she plans to issue to landowners on effective replacement selective herbicides in advance of the prohibition of asulam;
	(2)  what steps she can take to extend the use of asulam beyond 2012.

Richard Benyon: The EU prohibition on the use of asulam comes into operation at the end of 2012. Beyond this date it may be possible for the UK Government to issue emergency authorisations for the use of asulam if there are no alternative means of control available. The Chemicals Regulation Directorate has provided guidance to the Bracken Control Group, which is co-ordinating for interested parties on an application for an emergency authorisation for asulam for its key use for bracken control.
	I understand that a current approval holder for asulam intends to make a further submission to the European Commission seeking approval of the substance. Since this submission has to be supported by additional scientific studies, a new submission is unlikely to be made soon.
	There are currently no selective herbicides approved for use in the UK that could replace asulam for bracken control. I understand that some research has been conducted on several sulphonyl urea herbicides, but no applications for approval have yet been made. In some situations, non-selective herbicides or mechanical control may be appropriate ways to tackle bracken.

HEALTH

Bowel Cancer: Screening

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bowl cancer screenings have been carried out in each of the last three years.

Paul Burstow: The number of adequate screening tests for bowel cancer carried out in England as part of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme in each of the last three years can be found in the following table. An adequate screening test is one that produces a definitive result.
	
		
			  Number of adequate tests 
			 2008 1,033,429 
			 2009 1,344,127 
			 2010 1,868,658

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the average cost to the public purse of a patient's cancer treatment.

Paul Burstow: We have made no estimate of the average cost to the public purse of the treatment a cancer patient receives. Cancer treatments can vary greatly from patient to patient, both in terms of the types of treatment they receive and the duration of those treatments.

Care Homes: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government has taken to improve standards in residential care homes since May 2010.

Paul Burstow: Since October 2010, all providers of regulated activities, including care homes, have had to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and meet 16 registration requirements governing essential levels of safety and quality. The CQC has a wide range of independent enforcement powers that it can use if it considers providers are not meeting the requirements.
	The CQC is presently conducting the Dignity and Nutrition Inspection programme. Between March and June 2011, the CQC inspected care of older people on 100 national health service wards, focussing on dignity and nutrition. Between April and June this year, the CQC will inspect a further 50 hospitals. In addition, the care of older people in approximately 500 care homes will be inspected.
	The Department has funded a £100,000 project in the residential care sector to improve and address medication issues within care homes. The work is being led by the National Care Forum, working as part of a wider cross-sector partnership, which includes the Royal Colleges and other professional leadership organisations.
	The Department is also funding a project which is managed through the Social Care Institute for Excellence, under which Mental Capacity Act provider development managers are being used to provide advice on mental capacity issues across a network of care providers, including care homes.
	Around two thirds of residents in care homes have some form of dementia. 'Living well with dementia in care homes' was identified as one of the Government's four key priorities for improving dementia care in our revised implementation plan, “Quality Outcomes for People with Dementia: Building on the work of the National Dementia Strategy (2010)”. The plan sets out the Government's commitment to putting patients and the public first and improving health and social care outcomes for people with dementia and their carers.

Departmental Job Satisfaction

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of trends in staff responses on organisational objectives and purpose in his Department's Civil Service People Survey, October 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The results of the Department's people survey indicate that employee engagement has remained broadly level in a year of change. While response rates to questions related to 'organisational objectives and purpose' are down four percentage points on last year, 68% of staff responded positively to these questions. The Department is taking action based on the survey findings with a view to making improvements this year.

Depressive Illnesses: Medical Treatments

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps his Department has taken to improve treatment for people with depression.

Paul Burstow: The Government committed in their mental health strategy, ‘No Health Without Mental Health’, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, to investing around £400 million in completing the roll-out of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme over the spending review period. This will ensure that adults with depression and anxiety in all parts of England have access to a choice of psychological therapies.

Diabetes: Young People

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps the Government has taken to assist young people with diabetes.

Paul Burstow: The majority of children and young people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.
	We are introducing a mandatory best practice tariff (BPT) for paediatric diabetes from April 2012, the aim of which is to enable access to consistent high quality management of diabetes. The new BFT is an annual payment that covers outpatient care from the date of discharge from hospital after the initial diagnosis of diabetes is made, until the young person is transferred to adult services at the age of 19. The components of the BPT have been developed and agreed with clinicians and NHS Diabetes.
	The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have published guidelines on the diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes in children and young people. NHS Diabetes have also published a commissioning guide for diabetes services for children and young people. The guide includes an intervention map detailing all of the elements needed for the service as well as a contracting framework and service specification template. The guide is available at:
	www.diabetes.nhs.uk/document.php?o=43
	In 2009, NHS Diabetes also initiated the national Children and Young People Network, to address unwarranted variation in services for this group, and to improve the care and treatment they receive. The national network constitutes 12 clinical champions roughly representing the strategic health authority regions across England, led, funded and coordinated by NHS Diabetes.

Food: Labelling

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to require the labelling of foods to encourage people to eat a healthier diet;
	(2)  whether he plans to consider the raw and cooked properties of foods when considering proposals for food labelling.

Anne Milton: Labelling rules are set at European Union level and a new EU Food Information Regulation came into force on 13 December 2011.
	The regulation requires the provision of certain nutrition information (normally on the back of the packaging). It specifies that the nutrient information provided should be that of the food 'as sold' in its raw state but allows such information to be based on food after it has been prepared/cooked (“as consumed”) instead, where this is useful to consumers, and provided that the preparation instructions are clearly given.
	To supplement this information, the regulation also allows the voluntary repetition of the nutrients of particular concern to public health—energy, fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar—in a per portion format on the front of the pack. The Government will shortly be consulting on how they can work with businesses to bring more consistency to the format of this information and to increase its use across more food products.

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

Simon Burns: The Department does not publish all replies to its freedom of information (FOI) requests on its website.
	However, quarterly logs of the Department's FOI releases are published, along with some FOI answers where a policy team has chosen to provide this further detail.
	These are all available in the same area of the Department's website at:
	www.transparency.dh.gov.uk/category/foi/foi-releases/
	In addition, the Department, has a publication scheme to provide information that is of wide public interest. This is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/FreedomOfInformation/Freedomofinformationpublicationschemefeedback/Classesofinformation/DH_092400
	The Department does not routinely collate the average time taken between responding to a request and the information being made available on its website. To establish this would incur disproportionate cost.
	No time frame has been set by the Department between responding to a request and the information being made available on its website. However, officials will aim to undertake this task as quickly as possible.

Health Services: Detention Centres

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is his intention that the NHS Commissioning Board will have responsibility for commissioning healthcare in immigration removal centres from April 2013.

Paul Burstow: The Department will assume policy responsibility for immigration removal centre (IRC) healthcare commissioning policy from the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) from 1 April 2012.
	UKBA budgetary provision and commissioning responsibility for healthcare in IRCs will be transferred to the Department during 2012-13 and, subject to legislation, these responsibilities will be fully transferred to the National Health Service Commissioning Board by April 2014.

Health Services: Learning Disabled

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to provide training for NHS medical staff to improve services for patients with learning disabilities.

Paul Burstow: The content and standard of health care training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council, the independent regulatory body for medical training in the United Kingdom.
	However, the Department is currently undertaking a review of learning disabilities nursing in collaboration with the other devolved Administrations. The review has received evidence regarding the pre- and post-registration training of learning disabilities nurses. The report is due to be launched later this year.

Health Services: North East

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of model governance arrangements for pathfinder commissioning groups in the North East; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department supported NHS North East in its work with local emerging clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to develop “Interim Governance Arrangements for Pathfinder CCGs”. This document has been used to support local emerging CCGs to put in place robust governance arrangements that would enable them to operate with delegated authority from primary care trust boards and build experience of commissioning.

Health Services: North East

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what public engagement events were held by each pathfinder commissioning group in the North East in each month since January 2011.

Simon Burns: Information on public engagement events held by emerging clinical commissioning groups is not centrally held.

Hypopituitarism

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the (a) causes and (b) effects of post-traumatic hypopituitarism.

Paul Burstow: We have made no recent assessment of the causes, and effects, of post-traumatic hypopituitarism.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage those primary care trusts who have suspended IVF funding to review their decision; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Primary care trusts are fully aware of their statutory commissioning responsibilities and the need to base commissioning decisions on clinical evidence and discussions with local general practitioner commissioners, secondary care clinicians and providers. The national health service deputy chief executive, David Flory, wrote to primary care trust commissioners last year to highlight to those involved in commissioning fertility services the importance of having regard to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence fertility guidelines, including the recommendation that up to three cycles of in vitro fertilisation are offered to eligible couples where the woman is aged between 23 and 39.
	Additionally, we support Infertility Network UK, a leading patient support organisation, to develop and promote standardised access criteria and to work in partnership with commissioners to encourage good practice in the provision of fertility services.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts have decommissioned IVF services in each of the last two years.

Anne Milton: The information is not held centrally.

NHS: Contracts

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS bodies commissioning services from any qualified provider will be required to conduct due diligence of the financial and commercial background of such providers before placing contracts.

Simon Burns: Under any qualified provider, all providers will have to complete successfully the rigorous qualification process before signing the NHS standard contract and prior to delivering services. Commissioners will carry out checks on the financial and commercial standing of potential providers as part of the qualification process.

Nutrition: Health Education

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of his Department's provision of information on maintaining a healthy weight through healthy eating and exercise;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of Government initiatives in changing people's behaviour in respect of food.

Anne Milton: We are committed to building the evidence base on effective interventions to support people in improving their health, including in respect of diet, exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. Evaluation of Government initiatives forms a key part of this. For example, Change4Life, which aims to inspire a social movement to prevent people becoming overweight and. has a built-in programme of evaluation to monitor its effectiveness.

Organs: Donors

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish a pilot scheme for organ donation for those with rare blood types to enable organ donations to be used in exceptional circumstances without the need for consent from a family member if there is no record of opting out of organ donation.

Anne Milton: The national organ allocation scheme, administered by NHS Blood and Transplant, aims to improve outcomes, ensure equity of access to transplantation and to maximise the number of transplants performed. The allocation scheme is based very strongly on getting the best tissue match for the recipient. The scheme was substantially revised in April 2006 and further modified in 2010, and is constantly reviewed to provide the best outcomes for all patients. The Human Tissue Act 2004 and the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 each requires consent or authorisation for all organ donations either by the deceased while alive or by the family after his or her death.

Pain

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people in the current personal health budget pilot have chronic pain as either (a) their primary condition or (b) as a consequence of the long-term condition for which they are receiving a personal health budget;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that people with chronic pain will be able to access personal health budgets in the absence of a quality outcomes framework for chronic pain.

Paul Burstow: Personal health budgets offer patients more control and choice over how their outcomes are met. They are currently being piloted across England. Over 2,700 people have been recruited into, an independent evaluation programme. Around half of them will have personal health budgets; the remainder are in a control group. Although it is likely that many people with chronic pain (either as a primary condition or as a consequence of a long-term condition) are involved in the pilot, we do not yet know how many, or to what extent their needs are being supported through a personal health budget.
	However, the evaluation team will gather information and report on the health needs that people have, including chronic pain. The final evaluation report is due in October 2012.
	It is the Government's longer term aim to introduce a right to a personal health budget for people who would benefit from them, subject to the results of the evaluation of the pilot programme. This could include people with chronic pain. A number of anecdotal case studies from the pilot programme include people using personal health budgets to improve their pain control. These include people using their budgets to access services such as massage, hydrotherapy, or acupuncture.

Palliative Care

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the provision of palliative care services.

Paul Burstow: The Government have confirmed their commitment to improving quality and choice in palliative and end of life care in the White Paper ‘Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS’. The Department's end of life care strategy provides a blueprint for improving these services for adults and we are pressing on with its implementation.
	We are making progress in implementing the strategy. This includes: providing support for staff training and development in end of life care; completing pilots of locality registers (now called Electronic Palliative Care Co-ordination Systems), which will allow all local services to co-ordinate care more effectively; introducing a national survey of the bereaved, to help us understand the experience for patients and carers; and establishing a national coalition of organisations, Dying Matters, to raise public awareness of issues around death, dying and bereavement. The ‘End of Life Care Strategy Third Annual Report’, which sets out progress in implementing the strategy, was published in September 2011. A copy has been placed in the Library and is available on the Department website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_130239
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has published a Quality Standard on end of life care for adults.
	In. addition, we are undertaking work to develop a fairer funding system for palliative care, following on from the report of the independent Palliative Care Funding Review.

Palliative Care: Children

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support his Department provides to parents of children with terminal illnesses.

Anne Milton: Many children and young people with terminal illnesses or life-limiting conditions will have complex needs over a number of years and therefore require specific and intensive support from parents and carers. This is why the Government recognise the vital contribution that carers of all ages make to society, and has taken action to support them.
	We set out our priorities in ‘Recognised, valued and supported, next steps for the Carers Strategy’, a copy of which had already been placed in the Library, in November 2010 and are providing additional funding of £400 million to the national health service between 2011 and 2015 for carers' breaks.
	The Government also made available £19 million during 2010-11 to support service development in the palliative care sector. A number of the funded projects focused on issues relating to parents and carers.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure increased funding for relationship advice and sexual health services for teenagers.

Anne Milton: Funding for local services is a matter for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), taking into account the needs of the local population. The amount spent by PCTs on sexual health services is not prescribed by the Department.
	Improving sexual health by reducing unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections is very important, particularly for young people. “Improving outcomes and supporting transparency: A public health, outcomes framework for England 2013-16”, which was published on 23 January 2012 includes indicators for both under-18 conceptions and Chlamydia diagnoses in 15 to 24-year-olds. A copy has already been placed in the Library. The Department will publish a new sexual health policy document in the spring.

Pregnancy: Drugs

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the prescription of diethylstilboestrol to pregnant women; and if he will take steps to identify and locate (a) women who were prescribed diethylstilboestrol and (b) the children of such women.

Simon Burns: Diethylstilboestrol (DES) is an oestrogenic hormone formerly used in the treatment of threatened miscarriage. In 2002, the Department asked the Advisory Committee for Cervical Screening to consider the need for, and the potential effectiveness of, a publicity campaign to identify DES-exposed women and their children. The Committee advised that proactive campaigning would not help to identify women who are currently unaware of their DES exposure status and would serve only to create anxiety, as the vast majority of women in the United Kingdom have never been exposed to DES.
	We have received a number of representations on this matter since 2002. These include 18 parliamentary questions and letters from hon. Members, 14 from members of the public and six applications under the Freedom of Information Act. These included questions relating to the number of women exposed to DES in utero, screening for cancer in those who had been exposed, efforts made to trace those who had been exposed, effects in male offspring who had been exposed, and further research relating to possible risks.

Skin Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of melanoma skin cancer there have been in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of treatment of this kind of cancer in that period.

Paul Burstow: The number of cases of melanoma in England and the estimated national health service expenditure on the treatment and management of skin cancer for the latest three-year period for which comparable data could be provided can be found in the following table.
	The expenditure figures include both non-melanoma and malignant melanoma as it is not possible to break this figure down to identify expenditure on a particular type of skin cancer. It is also not currently possible to estimate expenditure on chemotherapy and radiotherapy by cancer type. Expenditure on these treatments is therefore included within the ‘Cancers and Tumours—Other’ category.
	In addition, expenditure on some service areas or activities is excluded if it is not possible to make a reasonable estimation of expenditure by specific disease area. For this reason expenditure on general practitioner services, diagnostics and some outpatient services are excluded from estimates of expenditure on cancers and tumours.
	Expenditure figures are from estimated England level programme budgeting data, which are calculated using primary, care trust and strategic health authority programme budgeting returns and Department resource accounts data. Figures also include an estimation of special health authority expenditure.
	
		
			  Gases of melanoma (1) Cancers and tumours—skin (2 ) (£ million) Cancers and tumours—other (3)  (£ billion) 
			 2007-08 8,809 110 2.32 
			 2008-09 9,695 100 2.39 
			 2009-10 9,771 110 2.75 
			 (1) Office of National Statistics (2) Programme budgeting data (3) Programme budgeting data

Skin Cancer: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make available the skin cancer treatment drug ipilimumab in NHS facilities.

Paul Burstow: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of previously treated unresectable stage III or IV malignant melanoma and has not yet published its final guidance.
	The manufacturer of ipilimumab has proposed a patient access scheme and the Department has agreed that the proposed scheme can be considered by NICE. NICE has indicated that the appraisal will now be referred back to its appraisal committee for further consideration.
	NICE is an independent body and it would not be appropriate for Ministers to. intervene in an ongoing technology appraisal.
	In the absence of final NICE guidance on a drug, it is for local primary care trusts (PCTs) to make funding decisions based on an assessment of the available evidence. Where a cancer drug is not routinely funded by a PCT, patients may be able to access the drug through the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Smoking: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has had any discussions with the (a) British Medical Association and (b) others on the effect on health of the Chempix form of the anti-smoking drug varenicitine.

Simon Burns: Neither the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), nor his officials have had discussions with the British Medical Association about the anti-smoking drug varenicline (brand name Champix).
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), an executive agency of the Department, is responsible for ensuring that all medicines available in the United Kingdom are effective and are acceptably safe. The MHRA has actively participated, along with other European Union member states, in Europe-wide discussions of the benefits and risks of treatment with varenicline. These discussions have concluded that the benefits of stopping smoking using varenicline outweigh the known side-effects. The health benefits of stopping smoking are well recognised.
	The MHRA continues to monitor closely the safety of varenicline. Emerging data on the benefits and risks of varenicline are carefully evaluated as they become available and updated prescribing guidance is issued as appropriate. MHRA has communicated information on the safety profile of varenicline to health care professionals in the UK via its monthly bulletin 'Drug Safety Update'. The target audience for this publication includes doctors (who are the main membership of the British Medical Association).

Social Services

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the difference between the number of people eligible for social care support in England and those receiving formal support from public or private sector agencies.

Paul Burstow: The Department has not made estimates of the difference between the number of people eligible for social care support in England and those receiving formal support from public or private sector agencies.
	The Department acknowledges that unmet need is difficult to precisely define and measure. The eligibility framework issued by the Department seeks to support councils in prioritising funding on those with the highest need. The Government are clear that everyone who thinks they may be in need of care and support is entitled to an assessment, and if this assessment concludes that services are required to meet the person's assessed needs and the person qualifies under the means-test, services must be provided.

Social Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the prospects for using increased resources for social care to reduce avoidable emergency admissions and NHS costs;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the social care system on the financial sustainability of the NHS.

Paul Burstow: Effective partnership working and integration are key enablers in delivering against the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention challenge within the national health service, and supporting improved efficiency within social care. This includes ensuring that people do not stay in hospital longer than they need to.
	The Department has put in place practical measures to support social care services, in the context of a challenging local government settlement, and to encourage improved joint working between primary care trusts (PCTs) and local authorities. In 2011-12, £648 million has been allocated to PCTs to transfer to councils for spending on social care services that also benefit health. The Department has been clear that PCTs and local authorities will need to work together closely in order to agree appropriate areas of social care investment, taking account of joint priorities identified by the joint strategic needs assessment for their local populations. Evidence from a survey of PCTs suggests that this funding is being used both to prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital (through crisis response services for example); and to ensure people are able to leave hospital quickly (through intermediate care and re-ablement services for example).
	A further £150 million (rising to £300 million in 2012-13) has been allocated to PCTs for the development. of post-discharge support and re-ablement services. There is local discretion over how this money is to be spent, but in a letter to the service the Department has been clear that:
	“This funding is intended specifically to develop current reablement capacity in councils, community health services, the independent and voluntary sectors, with the objective of ensuring rapid recovery from an acute episode and reducing people's dependency on social care services following discharge”.
	Finally in addition to these funding streams, the Department announced on 3 January 2012 that it was making a further £150 million available to PCTs, to transfer to local authorities for spending on social care. The Department has set out that this funding should be used to target delayed transfers of care which are attributable to social care services.

Social Services: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that children's needs are assessed as part of their parents' assessment by social services.

Paul Burstow: The Department issued best practice guidance on social care needs assessment, “Prioritising need in the context of Putting People First: A whole system approach to eligibility for social care”, to local authorities in 2010. A copy has already been placed in the Library and it is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_113154
	The guidance includes the following:
	“Councils should identify any children or young people acting in a caring role and consider the impact on them. Community care packages should not rely on the input of an inappropriate level of care from a child or young person. In this respect, in addition to the provision of adult care assessment and support, councils should be prepared, to address their duty under the Children Act 1989 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area. The Children Act 1989 also specifies the need to take the views and. interests of children into account, In discharging these duties, it is essential that Councils take account of the cumulative effects of responsibilities of family members within the household and where necessary, adult and children's services should work together to protect children from having to undertake unreasonable levels of care.”
	In the course of assessing an individual's needs, councils should recognise that adults who have parenting responsibilities for a child under 18-years may require help with these responsibilities.

Stem Cells

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what stem cell trials are being carried out in the UK; and what companies are involved in these.

Simon Burns: There are currently 10 trials of stem cell-based medicinal products for which clinical trial authorisations have been granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), of which two have commercial sponsors. The MHRA cannot name sponsors because they are legally obliged to keep this information confidential.

Voluntary Organisations

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contribution his Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department signed up to the renewed Compact published in December 2010. It is committed to the principles of the Compact and pursues a “compact compliant” way of working in its business with civil society organisations (CSOs).
	Over the last year the Department has taken the following actions to ensure the Compact is being implemented. It:
	has a nominated Senior Responsible Officer for the Compact, and a civil society liaison officer responsible for day to day promotion and management of Compact implementation;
	reviewed and monitored consultation lengths, to ensure consultations with the CSO sector are 12 weeks, where possible;
	has incorporated the Compact into its own cross departmental guidance on matters like grant funding and procurement;
	monitored departmental Compact compliance, via the number of complaints received about the implementation of the Compact;
	participated in the National Audit Office (NAO's) review of the National Compact implementation; and
	made ministerial statements and provided leadership on the Compact signalling its importance to relevant stakeholder groups e.g. by including a statement on the value of the Compact in arm’s length bodies business planning guidance.
	In 2012-13 the Department will also include reporting on the Compact within its business plan to be published in spring 2012.
	The Department welcomes the recent NAO inquiry on Government implementation of the Compact and will work with Compact Voice to take forward the report's recommendations to help Departments improve how they embed Compact principles into departmental activities.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments: EU Law

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress her Department has made in implementing European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

Lynne Featherstone: European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes was adopted in September 2010 and came into force on 9 November 2010. Member states must transpose the provisions of the directive into national legislation by 10 November 2012. The majority of its provisions must be implemented from 1 January 2013. The mandatory standards of care and accommodation set out in Annex III to the directive must be implemented by 1 January 2017.
	A public consultation on the options for transposition of the directive was launched on 13 June 2011 and closed on 5 September 2011. Over 13,000 individuals and nearly 100 organisations responded to the consultation. Analysis of the responses is almost complete. Decisions on options will be announced in due course. In the meantime, preliminary work is proceeding on the preparation of draft regulations to transpose the provisions of the directive into UK legislation and on the preparation of draft guidance to accompany the legislation. In addition comments have been invited from interested organisations on a draft code of practice on care and accommodation.

Arrest Warrants: Extradition

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many European arrest warrants seeking the extradition of a UK citizen to another EU member state have been served in each constituency in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for Scotland are the designated UK authorities responsible for processing European arrest warrants (EAWs). Information is held on part 1 cases (persons wanted from the UK by another member state) and part 3 cases (persons wanted by the UK from another member state).
	According to SOCA records, the following table shows the number of UK nationals arrested in the UK under a part 1 EAW from 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	
		
			 As at 1 April to 31 March each year Number of UK nationals arrested 
			 2008-09 29 
			 2009-10 79 
			 2010-11 59 
		
	
	Due to the way data was recorded prior to 1 April2008, it is not possible to provide data on the number of UK nationals arrested in the UK on part 1 EAWs prior to this date without a manual examination of each individual case file. This would incur a disproportionate cost.
	Data are not held by SOCA to allow these figures to be broken down into the number of warrants served in each constituency.

Criminal Records: EU Action

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the establishment of the European Criminal Records Information System.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government are fully supportive of the establishment of the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) in April 2012. ECRIS will provide for higher volumes and faster, more efficient exchanges of criminal records information across the EU and will therefore be a valuable new tool in fighting cross-border criminality. The European Commission is satisfied that ECRIS is on track to become operational as scheduled in April this year and I am pleased to confirm that the UK is on track to be ready to use the mechanism from that point.

Deloitte

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contracts her Department has awarded to Deloitte since May 2010; and what the (a) net and (b) individual monetary value was of each such contract.

Damian Green: holding answer 30 January 2012
	The Home Department, including its executive agencies, has awarded 36 contracts with a total value of £1,960,919.96 to Deloitte since May 2010. The contracts are as follows:
	
		
			  Contracts (a)  N et value (£) (b) I ndividual monetary value (£) 
			 1 Space planning exercise 5,000.00 5,000.00 
			 2 Space planning exercise 7,500.00 7,500.00 
			 3 Structural survey 2,777.90 2,777.90 
			 4 Space planning exercise 9,984.01 9,984.01 
			 5 Project Management—office consolidation 43,547.22 43,547.22 
			 6 Feasibility report 11,991.25 11,991.25 
			 7 Pre acquisition survey 6,967.13 6,967.13 
			 8 Feasibility report 11,991.25 11,991.25 
			 9 Feasibility report 16,046.25 16,046.25 
			 10 Feasibility report 5,916.72 5,916.72 
			 11 Feasibility report 17,122.00 17,122.00 
			 12 Feasibility report 5,565.81 5,565.81 
			 13 Space planning exercise 8,732.94 8,732.94 
			 14 Project Management—office refurbishment 59,140.10 59,140.10 
			 15 Project Management—office refurbishments 77,664.00 77,664.00 
			 16 Quality assurance exercise 3,749.09 3,749.09 
			 17 Feasibility report 11,942.72 11,942.72 
			 18 Space planning exercise 9,969.92 9,969.92 
		
	
	
		
			 19 Feasibility report 7,412.62 7,412.62 
			 20 Project Management—office consolidation 561,900.00 561,900.00 
			 21 Feasibility report 52,000.00 52,000.00 
			 22 Project Management—programme of minor works 86,196.00 86,196.00 
			 23 Feasibility report 8,279.28 8,279.28 
			 24 Planning application 3,262.75 3,262.75 
			 25 Project management 24,945.70 24,945.70 
			 26 Feasibility report 19,633.30 19,633.30 
			 27 Space planning exercise 14,763.60 14,763.60 
			 28 Specialist vat advisory services 17,889.00 17,889.00 
			 29 Infrastructure resilience review 19,913.00 19,913.00 
			 30 Programme services consultancy services 362,905.60 362,905.60 
			 31 Programme services consultancy services 67,047.20 67,047.20 
			 32 Programme services consultancy services 1,505.00 1,505.00 
			 33 Programme services consultancy services 68,293.60 68,293.60 
			 34 Programme services consultancy services 62,880.00 62,880.00 
			 35 Programme services consultancy services 200,000.00 200,000.00 
			 36 Programme services consultancy services 66,485.00 66,485.00 
			  Total 1,960,919.96 1,960,919.96

Departmental Drinks

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) her Department and (b) its public bodies have spent on (i) wine, (ii) other alcoholic refreshments and (iii) bottled water since May 2010.

Damian Green: holding answer 26 January 2012
	The Home Office accounting systems do not identify separate expenditure on wine, other alcoholic refreshments or bottled water. The information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Grants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding her Department will provide to (a) Women's Aid, (b) the Prince's Trust, (c) Inner City Guidance, (d) Refuge and (e) London Tigers in 2011-12; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 8 December 2011
	The Home Office has provided £1.247 million to these organisations so far this year. Grant applications for January to March 2012 are currently under consideration.
	
		
			 Third parties Grant spend to December 2011 (£) 
			 (a) Women's Aid 305,000 
			 (b) The Prince's Trust 250,000 
			 (c) Inner City Guidance 228,750 
		
	
	
		
			 (d) Refuge 300,000 
			 (e) London Tigers 163,604

Departmental Pilot Schemes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which pilots her Department has open.

Damian Green: The Home Office business plan includes the following open pilots:
	Trailblazers—building on the success of the national crime mapping website, Police.uk, trailblazer areas are undertaking exploratory work to increase transparency across crime, policing and justice and through the provision of a wider range of information.
	Domestic violence protection orders—to conduct and evaluate the effectiveness of domestic violence protection orders and domestic violence protection notices, which are designed to exclude the perpetrator from the designated premises and give victims of domestic violence the time and space to consider their options.
	In addition, across Home Office operations, there is ongoing trialling of a range of potential improvements prior to full roll-out.

Departmental Work Experience

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work experience or traineeship schemes her Department offers to minority groups.

Damian Green: The Home Office currently participates in the Fast Stream Summer Diversity Internship programmes for minority ethnic and low socio-economic background undergraduates; and the Windsor Fellowship Leadership programme for minority ethnic undergraduates.

Illegal Immigrants

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) illegal immigrants, (b) asylum seekers, (c) foreign nationals in breach of visa requirements and (d) foreign nationals with no right to remain in the UK were deported in each of the last five years; and to which countries such people were deported.

Damian Green: Deportations are a specific subset of removals which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person's removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. The deportation order prohibits the person returning to the UK until such time as it may be revoked. Most illegal immigrants are removed under administrative or illegal entry powers from the UK rather than being deported.
	It has therefore been assumed that the question refers to the number of removals and voluntary departures from the UK as opposed to the number of deportations.
	Information on (a) illegal immigrants and (c) foreign nationals in breach of visa requirements who were removed from the UK is not separately identifiable from published sources.
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. The data on removals and voluntary departures of (b) asylum seekers and (d) non-asylum seekers by country of destination are available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: July to September 2011.
	Due to the size of the tables involved for each year, annual data showing the asylum/non-asylum breakdown by country of destination removed to, are available from table rv.06 and quarterly data from table rv.06.q within the Immigration Statistics releases from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science, Research and Statistics web pages at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/
	Data for October 2011 onwards are not yet available, but quarterly data for October to December 2011 will be published as part of the regular Home Office publication scheme on 23 February 2012.

Illegal Immigrants

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants subject to removal proceedings left the UK without contesting the decision in each of the last five years; how many such immigrants appealed and were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful in their appeal; and how many such immigrants remain in the UK awaiting deportation.

Damian Green: Appellants do not have the right to appeal against removal. They are only able to exercise their right of appeal against their immigration application decision.

Immigrants: EU Nationals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the report on the analysis of the impacts of migration by the Migration Advisory Committee, if she will estimate the number of jobs unavailable to UK citizens due to immigration from EU member states.

Damian Green: The report by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), Analysis of the Impacts of Migration, investigated the possible relationship between migration and the employment of British-born citizens. For EU migrants the MAC did not find estimates of the effect to be statistically significant.

Immigration Controls

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress her Department has made on simplifying the administrative load on small businesses relating to immigration rules.

Damian Green: This Government's target is to reduce net migration, and they are committed to making the immigration system easier to use. Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), issued to demonstrate immigration status, will make identity, immigration status and 'Right to Work' (RTW) by employers simpler and more secure. We have issued 600,000 to date, and will complete the roll-out to new in-country applicants from February 2012. In addition, from spring 2012, we plan to launch an automated online checking service, in order to ensure employers are able to make quick and easy real time checks on the validity of the permit.

Immigration: Finance

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost of each immigration case contested by the immigrant subject to removal proceedings in each of the last five years; and what estimate she has made of the time each case takes to process from the initiation of removal proceedings to a final resolution.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is unable to provide this information without incurring disproportionate costs.

Private Security Industry Act 2001

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any private companies are exempt from the requirement of section 4 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.

Lynne Featherstone: The Private Security Industry Act 2001 requires the licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities and the voluntary approval of companies within the private security industry. It does not require companies to be licensed.
	Section 4 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001, makes provision for exemptions from what would otherwise be licensable. This allows the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), to exempt individuals from SIA licensing in certain circumstances, if suitable alternative arrangements to licensing apply.

Prostitution

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many brothels were closed down by each police force in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many brothel visits or raids each police force has made in each of the last three years.

Lynne Featherstone: This information is not held centrally.

Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent consideration she has given to bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 in response to recent trends in the level of metal theft.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 30 January 2012
	The Government recognise that metal theft is a serious and growing national problem with wide ranging social and financial impacts, including on churches and heritage sites.
	The Government are taking urgent action to address it, including funding a new dedicated metal theft taskforce. The Government consider that legislation is the only sustainable, long-term solution and will lay in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill an amendment to create a new criminal offence to prohibit cash payments to purchase scrap metal; and significantly increase the fines for all offences under the existing Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 that regulates the scrap metal recycling industry. These amendments are part of our wider attempts to tackle all stages in the illegal trading of stolen scrap metal, and we shall bring forward further measures in due course.

Telephone Tapping: Warrants

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many interception warrants for telephone tapping she has authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 since December 2010.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 24 January 2012
	Information regarding the issue of warrants for the interception of communications is set out in the annual reports of the Interception of Communications Commissioner. A link to the most recent report, covering 2010, is at:
	www.ipt-uk.com/docs/Interception_of_Communications_2406.pdf
	Information on warrants authorised in 2011 will be published in the Commissioner's next annual report, due to be published during 2012.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to measure progress on the implementation of policies supporting the big society initiative; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The Home Office promotes a number of activities that support big society objectives. This includes the Safer Future Communities programme, which is helping to prepare the voluntary sector for the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners. We will be evaluating how effective the programme has been in the development of local voluntary and community networks over the coming year.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Councillors: Conduct

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has made an estimate of the number of local councillors who were considered to have vacated their office by virtue of non-attendance under section 85 of Local Government Act 1972 in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Bob Neill: My Department has made no such estimate. It is for local authorities to monitor the attendance at meetings of their elected members.

Departmental Pay

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many officials in his Department are paid £100,000 or more per annum.

Bob Neill: As of 31 December 2011, the Department for Communities and Local Government had 12 staff being paid £100,000 or more per annum.
	The salaries of senior staff in Department for Communities and Local Government are publicly available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website for the periods ending 30 September 2011, 31 March 2011 and 30 June 2010.
	This information can be found here:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/transparencyingovernment/staffdata/

Empty Property

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of empty houses in the (a) UK and (b) Milton Keynes unitary authority area.

Andrew Stunell: The numbers of empty homes in England and in each local authority district of England, based on data from the council tax system, are published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website in Live Table 615 at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/stockincludingvacants/livetables/
	Figures for the other countries of the UK are published separately by the devolved Administrations. Data sources and definitions may differ between the figures for each country.

Energy Performance Certificates

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the proportion of homes with an energy performance certificate rating below C that are physically capable of being brought up to a C rating or above.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 26 January 2012
	The Department for Communities and Local Government currently has no plans to estimate the proportion of homes with energy performance certificate ratings below C that are capable of being brought up to a C rating or above.
	The recommendation report of an individual certificate provides a range of suggestions on how the property can improve its energy efficiency in a cost effective way.
	Of the 4,014,570 homes in England and Wales which had combined energy performance certificate ratings below C, up to and including 23 January 2012, 983,808 have the potential to raise their ratings to C or above, as assessed on their certificates.

Fire Services: Standards

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of fire service response times from time of call to time of first attendance for each fire and rescue service were of a duration of (a) up to five minutes, (b) six to 10 minutes, (c) 11 to 15 minutes and (d) over 15 minutes in each of the last five years. [R]

Bob Neill: The information requested is not yet available. However, it is intended that analysis of response time data, including the information requested, will be included in the Fire Statistics Monitor which is to be published by July. This will include data up to 31 March 2012.

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

Bob Neill: My Department places on its disclosure log copies of freedom of information responses which we judge would be in the wider public interest to publish.
	The disclosure log can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/foi/disclosure-log/
	The average time of publication varies—it is typically within a month, as they are often published in batches.

Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that homes provide sufficient personal space for children, including separate bedrooms for older children.

Andrew Stunell: The reforms to social housing allocations, homelessness and tenure in the Localism Act will make it much easier for social landlords to manage their stock to reduce overcrowding.
	We are also consulting on new guidance for local councils which encourages them to use the ‘bedroom standard’, a modern measure of overcrowding, when assessing whether a household is overcrowded for the purpose of allocating social housing.
	In setting out the framework for the Affordable Homes programme, the Government have made clear that the programme must take account of local priorities, which in some areas will include the provision of family-sized homes.
	The new homes bonus will also encourage local authorities to meet the housing need in their areas, including the housing need of families, by matching the council tax for the following six years. Family homes will tend to be in a higher council tax band than smaller houses or flats. In addition every affordable home built will receive an additional premium of £350 per year, up to around 36% more than for an equivalent market home.
	As outlined in the answer on 2 March 2011, Official Report, column 483W, our removal of national minimum density targets now gives local authorities the flexibility to set density ranges that suit the local needs in their areas—particularly for family homes.

Residential Developments

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure designs for new residential developments have safe access to (a) primary health care, (b) schools and (c) play areas for children.

Bob Neill: The Government attach great importance to the achievement of well designed homes and high quality places. The draft National Planning Policy Framework says that to deliver the facilities and services the community needs, planning policies and decisions should ensure that housing is developed in suitable locations which offer a range of community facilities and good access to key services and infrastructure.
	In addition, the draft Framework also asks for key facilities such as primary schools and local shops to be within walking distance of most properties, particularly for larger scale residential developments. We are currently considering carefully all the responses to the consultation on the draft Framework.

Retail Trade: Planning Permission

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he follows in determining retail planning applications that have been approved by local councils and then called in.

Bob Neill: holding answer 30 January 2012
	In determining any applications that he has called in for his own determination, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), has regard to the legal requirement that planning applications should be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Current national planning policy on retail development is contained in PPS4 Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth.

Voluntary Organisations

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contribution his Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: The Department for Communities and Local Government signed up to the renewed Compact published in December 2010.
	Over the last year the Department has taken the following actions to ensure the Compact is being implemented:
	has a nominated Senior Responsible Office for the Compact and a civil society liaison officer responsible for day to day promotion and management of Compact implementation.
	monitors departmental Compact compliance, via the number of complaints received about the implementation of the Compact.
	participated in the National Audit Office's review of the National Compact implementation.
	I am particularly pleased that this Department won the National Compact Award during the 2011 Compact Week for our work, with the sector, in producing the Best Value guidance which gives a new, clear prominence to working with the voluntary sector, helps build the confidence of these organisations in holding public agencies to account, is explicit about the scope for Best Value authorities to consider social value in their functions and specifically mentions local Compacts.
	In 2012-13 the Department will also include reporting on the Compact within its business plan to be published in spring 2012.
	My officials will also be following up the other recommendations within the National Audit Office report in order to ensure that the Department continues to be a strong model of collaborative working between Government and the voluntary sector.

Water: Conservation

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking through the planning system to encourage rainwater harvesting in (a) domestic, (b) commercial and (c) industrial buildings.

Bob Neill: In line with our reforms to simplify the planning system, the draft National Planning Policy Framework, which we consulted on last year, streamlines existing national planning policy into a consolidated and clearer set of priorities to consider when planning for sustainable development. In doing so the draft framework sets out specific requirements only where necessary, for example, to avoid and manage risks from flooding. In this respect, the draft framework proposes that new development in flood risk areas should give priority to the use of sustainable drainage systems (which can, where appropriate, include rainwater harvesting).
	1 would also refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Andrew Stunell), to my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames), on 17 January 2012, Official Report, columns 632-33W, on the issue of rainwater harvesting.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: RAF Northolt

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the potential for increased (a) passenger and (b) business flights from RAF Northolt;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of (a) environmental and (b) noise implications of increasing the number of flights from RAF Northolt.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport has not made any assessment of the potential for increased passenger or business flights from RAF Northolt or on the related environmental and noise implications.
	RAF Northolt is a Ministry of Defence establishment.

Aviation: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the Draft Civil Aviation Bill and its effect on airports in Wales.

Theresa Villiers: The Civil Aviation Bill extends to the whole of the UK. Welsh Government officials and Ministers have been kept informed of measures in the Bill as they have developed. A draft copy of the Civil Aviation Bill was shared with Edwina Hart AM, Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science, in the Welsh Government, prior to its publication. The Welsh Government have expressed support for the Bill.

Christmas

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on (a) Christmas trees and (b) other Christmas decorations in 2011; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: In 2011 my Department spent £8 on Christmas decorations at the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Farnborough. This was for the replacement of lights/bulbs that were at least 12-years-old and deemed to be a safety hazard. I do not regard this as unreasonable.
	There was no other expenditure on Christmas trees or decorations in the Department for Transport.

Departmental Procurement

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2012, Official Report, column 636W, on departmental procurement, what contracts her Department (a) has issued and (b) has at preferred bidder stage where any part of the contract is priced in a foreign currency; which part of the contract or bid is priced in a foreign currency in each case; and what the currency is in each case.

Theresa Villiers: Bids are typically priced in pounds sterling. Where there are significant costs to bidders arising in foreign currency, exchange rate assumptions may be provided to all bidders on which to base their bids.
	At contract signature such assumptions are re-calibrated for the relevant rates at that time and reflected in the sterling amount to be paid under the contracts. Exchange rate risk after financial close lies with the bidder.
	Therefore, (a) where contracts have been issued they are priced in pounds sterling; (b) details of preferred and reserve bidders' tenders remain confidential to bidders and the Department.

Great Western Railway Line

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the potential level of public subsidy to be received by the company which takes over the new Great Western franchise on (a) an annual and (b) a cumulative basis over the lifetime of the franchise.

Theresa Villiers: The Department has been and will continue to undertake detailed financial analysis of the Great Western franchise to determine its commercial position for the forthcoming competition to operate these services. The Government do not publish such details as this would prejudice our commercial position in obtaining the best price and value for taxpayer from this franchise competition.

Great Western Railway Line: Electrification

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the date of completion of electrification of the Great Western Main Line to (a) Newport and (b) Cardiff Central stations.

Theresa Villiers: Network Rail is delivering the electrification of the Great Western Main Line. Newport and Cardiff will be complete by December 2017.

High Speed 2

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of compensation payments to residents and businesses along the planned High Speed 2 route up to the beginning of train services on the route.

Justine Greening: As of September 2011, HS2 Ltd estimated the cost of land acquisition and compensation payments to be £965 million, for the first phase London to West Midlands route. This does not include discretionary or hardship-based acquisitions as these proposals are still under development and will be consulted on in the spring.

High Speed 2

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the oral statement of 10 January 2012, Official Report, columns 23-59, on high-speed rail, what estimate she has made of the number of businesses that will re-locate from Birmingham to London as a result of shorter journey times; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: holding answer 17 January 2012
	It is estimated that HS2 will help support growth in employment of more than 8,000 jobs in the west midlands and regenerate Birmingham's Eastside. While no specific assessment has been made of whether businesses would relocate from Birmingham to London as a result of HS2, table 5 of the Economic Case for HS2 published this month shows that, based on where people start their journeys, over three-quarters of the monetised business benefits of a Y-shaped HS2 network are likely to be accrued outside London.

Large Goods Vehicles

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 October 2011, Official Report, columns 24-5WS, on high-volume semi-trailers, what (a) information, (b) advice and (c) guidance she has issued to local authorities in advance of the longer lorry trials.

Michael Penning: No material has been issued specifically for local authorities. Department for Transport officials have answered questions received from two local authorities.

Metals: Theft

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2011, Official Report, column 669W, on metals: theft, when the £5 million fund to establish a nationwide taskforce to target metal thieves and scrap metal dealers who illegally trade in stolen metal will be made available; and what progress has been made on a new regulatory framework.

Norman Baker: In the autumn statement, the British Transport police were given the go-ahead to undertake expenditure from the £5 million fund for the establishment and operation of a dedicated national taskforce to tackle metal theft. Work is now under way to establish a central command and management team to co-ordinate operational activity and intelligence, supported by a number of regional teams, comprising police, Environment Agency and HMRC representatives, who will undertake enhanced enforcement and detection activity.
	The Government believe that the existing regulatory regime for the scrap metal industry is no longer effective and needs to be revised. As the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), announced in a written ministerial statement on 26 January 2012, Official Report, columns 25-26WS, the Government will be tabling amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill to prohibit cash payments for the purchase of scrap metal, and to increase fines for offences under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964. Further measures will be brought forward in due course.

Midland Main Railway Line: Electrification

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has for the electrification of the Midland Mainline between Nottingham and London; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The Government support progressive electrification of the rail network in England and Wales as a way of reducing the cost of running the railways, increasing efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. We continue to work with Network Rail to look at the case for further electrification, including of the Midland Main Line, between Nottingham and London, in the next rail Control Period starting in 2014.

Railway Trains

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effect of measures to control costs in rail franchise awards on (a) train timetables and (b) levels of overcrowding; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: Improving efficiency and reducing cost is vital to the future of the railway. But this will not be at the cost of good services for passengers and will not lead to a reduction in capacity. This Government are investing in rail, with £18 billion of rail funding in last year's spending review and the biggest programme of railway modernisation since the Victorian era.

Railways

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the minimum number of station calls is at each station each (a) week and (b) day on the Intercity West Coast franchise route (i) to and from London Euston and (ii) between Birmingham New Street and Edinburgh Waverley. [R]

Theresa Villiers: The Train Service Requirement (TSR) requested was published on 20 January 2012 and is available on the Departments website at:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/intercity-west-coast-franchise-itt/attachment-a.pdf

Railways: Kent

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects to begin the tendering process for the next Integrated Kent Franchise agreement.

Theresa Villiers: The Department normally begins the formal process for retendering for new franchises around 18 months before the new commencement date. We have not yet made any formal announcement regarding the timescales for the new Integrated Kent Franchise which is due to start on 1 April 2014.

Railways: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the number of miles of railway track within Wales that will be electrified by the end of (a) December 2016 and (b) December 2017.

Theresa Villiers: Network Rail's electrification programme will not have delivered electrified track in Wales by December 2016. I currently estimate that for December 2017, up to 101 single track miles will be electrified and ready for electric services.

Railways: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with Ministers in the Welsh Government on (a) the McNulty Review of Rail Value for Money study, (b) capacity on the redoubling of the Swindon to Kemble route and (c) the consultation for the proposed new Great Western franchise.

Theresa Villiers: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), recently met with Carl Sargeant, Assembly Minister with responsibility for Transport, to discuss rail related issues. The meeting did not cover any of the above issues.
	Officials are in regular contact with officials from the Welsh Assembly Government on a range of rail and other issues.

Railways: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects to announce the findings of studies on the possible electrification of the Valley Lines.

Theresa Villiers: As the studies on the possible electrification of the Valley Lines have been commissioned by the Welsh Government, it is for that Government to make any such announcements.

Railways: Wales

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with Ministers in the Welsh Government on electrification of rail infrastructure serving Swansea.

Theresa Villiers: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), met Carl Sargeant AM on 16 January 2012 where the matter of Cardiff to Swansea electrification was discussed alongside the Welsh Government's other electrification proposals.

Taxis: Fares

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the operation of section 71 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 on taxi metering.

Norman Baker: The Department has made no assessment of the operation of this section. Individual licensing authorities are responsible for testing any taximeters which are fitted in the private hire vehicles which they license. They can take action against any person who attempts to deceive consumers by tampering with a taximeter.
	There is a wider point about ensuring that any taximeter placed on the market complies with the Measuring Instruments (Taximeters) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/2304). We are currently looking into various options as to how the enforcement regime under these regulations will be carried out in the future.

Transport: Infrastructure

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the analysis by IPPR North of the autumn statement announcements on transport infrastructure, whether she has made an assessment of IPPR North's conclusion that 84 per cent. of the announced spending on such projects will benefit London and the South East region.

Norman Baker: I have not assessed IPPR North's specific assertion that 84% of the transport infrastructure spending announcements in the autumn statement of 29 November 2011, Official  Report, columns 799-810, will benefit London and the south-east.
	However, the following table breaks down spend on both the transport schemes announced as part of the autumn statement and the further Local Authority Major Transport schemes announced on 14 December 2011, Official Report, columns 104-6WS.
	This clearly demonstrates that the autumn statement announcements will improve transport networks across the country.
	It can be difficult and misleading to assign spend to a particular region as the benefits of certain projects can be far more widespread (for example, improvements to a particular section of motorway will not only benefit those living nearby). In addition, a number of projects announced in the autumn statement, such as funding for bridge renewals, are not specific to a particular region. For Trans Pennine Electrification, spend has been apportioned between the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber for the purpose of this exercise.
	
		
			 Description Total spend (£ million) 
			 North East  
			 Morpeth northern bypass 21.1 
			 Sunderland strategic corridor 82.6 
			 Accelerate NEXUS (Tyne and Wear metro) modernisation programme(1) 4.0 
			  107.7 
			   
			 North West  
			 New link road for M56 (Manchester Airport) to the A6 120.0 
			 Crewe Green link southern section 15.7 
			 Manchester cross city bus(1) 32.5 
			 Pennine Reach (East Lanes rapid transit) 31.9 
			 Rochdale interchange(1) 7.0 
			 Trans Pennine electrification (spend arbitrarily split between regions) 145.0 
			  352.1 
			   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber  
			 Accelerating M1 J39-42 improvements(1) 50.0 
			 Leeds inner ring road(2) 18.5 
			 Leeds rail growth 10.3 
			 A6182 White Rose Way improvement scheme 9.7 
			 South Yorkshire bus rapid transit phase 1 (Sheffield) 19.4 
			 A164 Humber bridge to Beverley 7.7 
			 Beverley integrated transport plan 20.7 
			 A684 Bedale bypass 35.9 
			 Access York park and ride 15.3 
			 New road linking the A18 and A180 4.9 
			 Supertram additional vehicles (Sheffield) 12.4 
			 Large debt write off and lower tolls for the Humber Bridge 294.0 
			 Trans Pennine electrification (spend arbitrarily split between regions) 145.0 
			  643.8 
			   
			 West Midlands  
			 Managed motorway on the M6 - Junction 10a to Junction 13 118.9 
			 Improving the A45/46 at Tollbar End 113.0 
			 A45 westbound bridge (Solihull) 8.5 
			 Darlaston (Walsall) 14.3 
			 Evesham bridge maintenance 8.6 
			 Worcester ITS 14.2 
			 Chester Road (Birmingham) 8.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Coventry-Nuneaton rail upgrade 9.8 
			  295.6 
			   
			 East Midlands  
			 Widening A453 between Nottingham, the M1 and East Midlands airport 160.0 
			 Improving Junction 19—the junction between the M1, M6 and A14, a key freight route, as well as improving safety 153.0 
			 Widening A14 Junction 7 to Junction 9 (Kettering Bypass) 113.4 
			 New A43 Corby link road 21.2 
			 Hucknall town centre improvement scheme 8.5 
			 Lincoln eastern bypass 50.0 
			 London road bridge (Derby) 4.4 
			 Loughborough town centre transport scheme 14.8 
			 Nottingham ring road 12.8 
			  538.1 
			   
			 East  
			 A14 targeted improvements between Cambridge and Huntingdon 20.0 
			 Croxley rail link (Watford) 76.2 
			 Luton town centre transport scheme 15.9 
			 Norwich northern distributor road 86.5 
			  198.6 
			   
			 South West  
			 South Bristol link phases 1 and 2 27.6 
			 New A380 road linking Newton Abbot to Torbay (Kingskerswell Bypass) 76.4 
			 Bath transportation package 11.7 
			 BRT Ashton Vale to Temple Meads (Bristol) 34.5 
			 Camborne-Pool-Redruth transport package 16.1 
			 Elmbridge transport (Gloucester) 14.1 
			 Weston Super Mare package 10.4 
			 North Fringe to Hengrove package BRT (Bristol) 51.1 
			  241.9 
			   
			 London  
			 Managed motorway on the M3, Junction 2 to Junction 4a 150.1 
			 Accelerating M25 Junction 23 to Junction 27 improvements(1) 50.0 
			 Retrofit existing buses for air quality purposes (this will be match funded by the Mayor) 5.0 
			  205.1 
			   
			 South East  
			 Tipner interchange (Portsmouth) 19.8 
			 Northern road bridge (Portsmouth) 11.1 
			 East-West rail project 270.0 
			 Flexible commuter rail tickets 45.0 
			 New Southern rail carriages 80.0 
			  425.9 
			   
			 Not region specific  
			 Integrated transport block top up—Used by local transport authorities for small transport improvement schemes costing less than £5 million 50.0 
			 Road pinch point fund—Local Managed Network Schemes and highways technology improvements 217.5 
			 New low carbon emission buses—green bus fund round 3 20.0 
		
	
	
		
			 Tackle local problems on the rail network more quickly (NRDF) 100.0 
			 Metal theft taskforce 5.0 
			 Capping rail fares at RPI+1 (lost rail revenues and transitional costs)—includes TfL 290.0 
			 Rail winter resilience 10.0 
			 Access for All station accessibility improvements 26.0 
			 Bridge renewals 250.0 
			  968.6 
			 (1) These schemes are being accelerated and spend is being brought forward from future years. (2) This is the maximum DfT spend and is dependent on the successful resolution of various funding agreements with other bodies who have liability for some of the works.

WALES

Voluntary Organisations

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what contribution her Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: This Compact is an agreement between the Government and civil society organisations in England. The Welsh Government have operational responsibility for engagement with civil society organisations in areas where policy responsibility is devolved and has existing arrangements for engagement with civil society organisations. The Compact does not override these arrangements.
	The Wales Office does not fund services provided by voluntary and civil society organisations in Wales but where the Government interact with or have responsibility for funding these services in Wales, they will honour the commitments made in the Compact.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Army

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to increase the recruitment numbers for the (a) Afghanistan National Army and (b) Afghanistan National Police.

Nick Harvey: Recruitment numbers for the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) and Afghanistan National Police (ANP) are matters for the Government of Afghanistan. However, we will continue to work closely with them through the NATO Training Mission—Afghanistan to help build the capacity and capability of the forces.
	Both the ANA and ANP are on track to reach their maximum target numbers in October 2012 as endorsed by the Standard Security Committee of the Joint Co-ordination Monitoring Board, the formal decision making body for Afghan and international co-ordination.

Armed Forces: Entertainers

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision his Department has made for the entertainment of UK armed forces (a) overseas and (b) UK-based in 2011-12; and what the equivalent figures were in each of the last 12 years.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence makes extensive provision for the entertainment of our armed forces overseas and in the UK. Entertainment is not provided centrally, but by a large number of different elements. Examples include a contract with Combined Services Entertainment to provide shows overseas and to those recovering in Headley Court and Selly Oak; separately, shows are provided for ships at sea. A contract with the Services Sound and Vision Corporation provides television and radio services for a number of overseas bases. Additionally, more than 25,000 armed forces personnel and their families are reached by Garrison Radio. Commanding officers have access to the Commanding Officers' Public Fund and Accumulated Welfare Fund, which can be used for the purchase of a variety of items, including televisions and computers. Figures for all elements of this entertainment provision are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Entertainers

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what acts have performed for UK service personnel overseas in the last 12 years; and at what cost to his Department.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence has a contract with Combined Services Entertainment to provide entertainment acts, such as dancers, comedians and bands, to UK service personnel deployed overseas. The details of the individual acts contracted over this period are not held. For the 2011-12 financial year we expect the total cost for overseas performances (including travel, subsistence, insurance and other costs as well as fees paid to performers) to be £1.946 million. This is based on actual costs to the end of December 2011 and forecasts for January to March 2012.
	For the previous 12 years the costs are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Cost (£ million) 
			 1999-2000 0.096 
			 2000-01 0.093 
			 2001-02 0.054 
			 2002-03 0.121 
			 2003-04 2.151 
			 2004-05 0.936 
			 2005-06 1.439 
			 2006-07 1.601 
			 2007-08 1.786 
			 2008-09 1.805 
			 2009-10 0.887 
			 2010-11 1.384

Departmental Theft

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a list of all items with a value of more than £100 which were stolen from his Department in 2011.

Andrew Robathan: The information requested is available in the Library of the House.

Depleted Uranium

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what methods were used to demilitarise and dispose of the depleted uranium ammunition for the Phalanx Close-in Weapon System; which regulatory framework applied to the work; how the depleted uranium metal was disposed of; and where the final disposal site was located.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 30 January 2012
	Demilitarisation of the depleted uranium ammunition for the Phalanx Close-in Weapons System was carried out under a Prime Contract at a commercial facility in Germany, with final disposal being completed at a commercial licensed recycling facility in the USA. Under the terms of the contract, both the prime contractor and associated sub-contractors were required to have the applicable licences and to comply with appropriate national and international safety and environmental regulations and with due regard to conventions, protocols and approvals. This included registration and use of Euratom safeguard registered sites, as required by the Euratom treaty within Europe. The commercial facility in the USA melted and cast the depleted uranium into ingots which are stored there for recycling.

Ex-servicemen: Health Services

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2012, Official Report columns 728-9W, on ex-servicemen: health services, 
	(1)  whether his Department has established whether the low numbers of referrals of patients with physical health problems to the Medical Assessment Programme is due to (a) patients not having such needs or (b) GPs not being aware of the services available to them;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to ensure that GPs are aware of the (a) Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) and (b) services offered by the MAP.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 26 January 2012
	We believe that the decline of physical health referrals from 1990-91 Gulf veterans is due to a number of factors. Most notably, the Gulf conflict took place over 20 years ago and so it is unsurprising that referrals of physical health complaints of Gulf veterans have now reduced to a very low level and that those which are reported are less likely to be connected with their deployment.
	Another key factor is the reassurance provided by the publication of independent peer-reviewed scientific research in the UK and US showing that there is no evidence of a unique ‘Gulf War Syndrome’. In addition many of the issues of concern to Gulf veterans have been addressed with the publication of reports following the Ministry of Defence (MOD) investigation of the facts.
	Details about the Medical Assessment Programme have been on the MOD, Veterans-UK, and NHS websites for many years. In addition, last year the MOD, Department of Health and the Royal College of General Practitioners launched a GPs' e-learning package on veterans' and service families' health to help increase GPs’ awareness of military issues raised. This followed the report on veterans' mental health care published by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison).

Libya: Armed Conflict

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made since the conclusion of Operation Ellamy of NATO's requirement for independent ISTAR assets for future operations.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence is conducting its own lessons identified exercise. This will feed into NATO's assessment of the operations in Libya.
	The lessons identified will contribute to the Department's internal planning round process and also the NATO Defence Planning process. Certain capabilities, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, were identified as priority capability shortfalls at the NATO Lisbon summit and work continues to address them, including through the Secretary General's Smart Defence Initiative.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  on how many occasions Combined Air Operations Centre Finderup has directed Quick Reaction Alert flights from each RAF base;
	(2)  how many UK service personnel are assigned to each Combined Air Operations Centre.

Nick Harvey: To identify unknown aircraft in the NATO Air Policing Area, the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre Finderup issued direction to United Kingdom Control and Reporting Centres for the launch of UK military Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) aircraft on 10 occasions in 2011. The choice of the QRA base or bases used for each incident is at the discretion of the tactical commander and forms part of the deterrent value of our QRA posture. Therefore, this figure includes launches from both RAF Coningsby and RAF Leuchars.
	The number of UK service personnel currently assigned to Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOC) is 47. The following table details the locations of each CAOC and the personnel numbers at each:
	
		
			 Location Number of Royal Air Force personnel Number of Army personnel Number of Royal Navy personnel 
			 CAOC1—Finderup, Denmark 16 1 0 
			 CAOC2—Uedem, Germany 4 0 0 
			 CAOC5—Poggio Renatico, Italy 0 0 0 
			 C AOC6—Eskesehir, Turkey 0 0 0 
			 CAOC7—Larissa, Greece 0 0 0 
			 CAOC8—Torrejon, Spain 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 CAOC10—Monsanto, Portugal 0 1 0 
			 Air Component Command CAOC-Al Udeid 23 2 0 
			 Total 43 4 0 
			 Note: CAOCs 3, 4 and 9 have been inactive since 2008.

Military Aircraft

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft of each type are in service in each branch of the armed forces; and where each such aircraft is based.

Peter Luff: holding answer 30 January 2012
	The number of fixed wing and rotary aircraft in service with each branch of the armed forces, and where each such aircraft is based is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Aircraft type Service Based at In-service fleet (number) 
			 Apache Army Wattisham, Middle Wallop 67 
			 BAE 146 RAF Northolt 2 
			 BAE 125 RAF Northolt 6 
			 C-17 RAF Brize Norton 7 
			 Chinook Mk 2/2a and Mk 3 RAF Odiham 46 
			 Defender Mk 1 Army Aldergrove 9 
			 Gazelle Army Aldergrove, Suffield (Canada), Middle Wallop 35 
			 Hawk T1/T1A/T1W RAF Valley, Leeming, Culdrose, Scampton 129 
			 Hawk T2 RAF Valley 28 
			 Hercules C130K RAF Brize Norton 8 
			 Hercules C130J RAF Brize Norton 24 
			 Islander Mk 1 and Mk2 Army Aldergrove, Middle Wallop, Northolt 7 
			 King Air RAF Waddington 5 
			 Lynx Mk3 Fleet Yeovilton 11 
			 Lynx Mk7 Army Dishforth, Odiham, Yeovilton, Gütersloh (Germany), Middle Wallop 50 
			 Lynx Mk8 Fleet Yeovilton 33 
			 Lynx Mk 9/9a Army Dishforth, Odiham, Yeovilton, Gütersloh, Middle Wallop 22 
			 Merlin Mk 1 Fleet Culdrose 42 
			 Merlin Mk 3/3a RAF Benson 28 
			 Puma RAF Benson 31 
			 Sea King Mk 3/3a RAF Valley, Wattisham, Lossiemouth, Leconfield, Boulmer, Chivenor, Falkland Islands 25 
			 Sea King Mk 4 Fleet Yeovilton 37 
			 Sea King Mk 5 Fleet Culdrose 16 
			 Sea King Mk 7 Fleet Culdrose 13 
			 Sentinel RAF Waddington 5 
			 Sentry RAF Waddington 6 
			 Tornado GR4 RAF Marham; Lossiemouth, Coningsby 136 
			 Tri-Star RAF Brize Norton 8 
			 Tucano T1 RAF Linton-on-Ouse 91 
			 Typhoon RAF Coningsby, Leuchars, Falkland Islands, BAE Warton 86 
			 VC10 RAF Brize Norton 9 
			 Vigilant T1 RAF Volunteer Gliding Schools (VGS)—Various(1) 65 
			 Viking T1 RAF VGS Various(2) 82 
			 (1) Abingdon, Dalton Barracks; Chivenor; Cosford; Halton; Henlow; Linton-on-Ouse; Little Rissington; Lossiemouth; Newtownards Airfield; Odiham; St Athan; Swansea Airport; Syerston; Ternhill; Topcliffe; Woodvale. (2) Arbroath Airfield; Hullavington, Buckley Barracks; Kenley; Kirknewton; Predannack Airfield; Syerston; Upavon Airfield; Watton, STANTA (Stanford Practical Training Area) Airfield; MDP Wethersfield.

Radioactive Waste: Dalgety Bay

Gordon Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his planned visit to Fife in the week of 30 January 2012, if he will visit the sites at Dalgety Bay now under scrutiny for radiation contamination.

Andrew Robathan: I am, this day, at Dalgety Bay and am visiting these sites. My office notified the right hon. Member's office of my visit on 19 January.

Turkey: Armed Forces

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armed forces personnel have been deployed to Turkey in the last two months; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: There has been no deployment of UK armed forces personnel to Turkey within the last two months.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what level of drugs was seized in Afghanistan in the last three years; and what further steps he plans to take to reduce drug production in that country.

Alistair Burt: The Criminal Justice Task Force, Afghanistan's leading counter narcotics judicial institution, records all significant drug seizures associated with the prosecutions it handles. It suggests a total of 353.2 metric tonnes of illicit narcotics (heroine, morphine, opium, hashish) was seized between April 2009 and December 2011. Very low-level drugs cases are not included in this figure.
	The UK has provided strong support to the Government of Afghanistan in delivering their National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS) and, in partnership with our international partners and the United Nations Office on Drugs Crime, will continue to do so in future. The NDCS sets out a comprehensive response to the narcotics trade including law enforcement, criminal justice, economic development and regional co-operation.

Afghanistan: Police

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on establishing the Police Academy of Afghanistan; what the expected completion date is; and how many recruits are expected to be trained each year.

Alistair Burt: The police training centre in Helmand has been operating since June 2010. Over 3,400 new recruits and 570 junior officers have graduated since the training centre opened. As of January 2012 there are 507 trainees at the training centre consisting of 198 junior officers, 299 patrolmen and 10 trauma assistance personnel medics. The number of recruits trained in future will vary depending on the nature of training being delivered, based on Afghan needs.
	We continue to invest in the training centre, which will become the police training academy once construction is fully completed. The construction of student accommodation and a student Mosque is due to be completed by March 2012.

Arms Trade: Treaties

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he is taking steps to support the participation of women from conflict-affected countries in the Arms Trade Treaty negotiations.

Alistair Burt: Civil society and non-governmental organisations have played a crucial role in the progress made on an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) so far, and, alongside Ambassador Moritan of Argentina, the Chair of the UN process on ATT, the UK has worked to ensure that civil society retain a voice in the UN Preparatory Committee meetings. We will continue to support this approach at the UN Conference in 2012. The UK Delegation regularly meets with civil society representatives from different regions, including women from regions affected by conflict, and this will continue at the final Preparatory Committee meeting and the UN Negotiating Conference. At the July Preparatory Committee meeting, the UK delegation met a group of survivors of armed violence. The UK has also funded a project in India that examined the impact of gun violence on women in Indian communities.

Atlantic Ocean Islands: Environment Protection

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the case for establishing a Marine Protected Area at (a) Tristan da Cunha, (b) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, (c) Bermuda and (d) Pitcairn Island.

David Lidington: Various activities are currently under way relating to the conservation of the marine resources of Tristan, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Bermuda and Pitcairn. These will inform the ongoing discussions between my Department and Overseas Territory (OT) Governments about the appropriate options for the management and protection of the rich environmental assets of the OTs.

Bangladesh: Military Coups

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has discussed with the government of Bangladesh the attempted military coup in that country in December 2011.

Alistair Burt: Our high commission in Dhaka has discussed the attempted coup with the Bangladesh Government and has made clear our strong support for democracy and democratic institutions.
	The UK does not condone or support unconstitutional action or any attempts to seize power by force. We favour constructive dialogue and strong independent and accountable institutions for a healthy and sustainable democracy in Bangladesh.

Ethiopia: Human Rights

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent visits UK diplomats have made to the Ogaden region; and what discussions on the human rights of the people of that region his Department has had with the (a) Government of Ethiopia, (b) Government of Somalia and (c) African Union; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development officials regularly visit Ethiopia's Ogaden region, and meet with governmental, non-governmental, and civil society representatives. The British embassy in Addis Ababa regularly discusses the human rights situation in the region with Ethiopian federal and regional governments.
	We have not raised human rights in the Ogaden region directly with the Transitional Government of Somalia.
	Strengthening the protection of human rights and promoting good governance across Africa is a core element of HMG's regular dialogue with the African Union.

EU Action

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of paragraph 11 of the EU Parliament Motion for a Resolution B7-0000/2012 of 9 January 2012; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The UK Government have noted both the European Parliament's resolution and the Serbian Government's announcement on 12 January 2012 that article 359 of the Criminal Code will be replaced during 2012 with a series of more specific offences, in line with EU and Council of Europe recommendations. The UK, in supporting an EU future for Serbia and all countries in the Western Balkans, will continue to insist that applicant states fully comply with the EU's membership criteria before acceding, including in establishing the rule of law.

Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the Falkland Islands.

Jeremy Browne: We are in regular touch with the US on this and many other issues. They understand our position. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the Falkland Islands with Secretary Clinton in Washington in December. The US takes no position on the Islands' sovereignty, but recognises the UK's administration. This is a longstanding US position. Ministers and officials have and will continue to make it clear to their US counterparts that the wishes of the Islanders are paramount, and that we will not negotiate on sovereignty so long as the Islanders wish to remain British.

Human Rights

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who within his Department is leading the review of guidance on security and justice assistance; and what steps he is taking to ensure gender considerations are included in that review.

Jeremy Browne: The Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) guidance focuses on managing the risk of serious violations of human rights that may arise from Her Majesty's Government's (HMG's) security and justice work.
	The Guidance refers specifically to sexual violence and human trafficking, issues which affect women and girls in particular, and more broadly, the need to protect and promote women's rights is mainstreamed throughout the Guidance.
	The Human Rights and Democracy Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading the internal review of the OSJA Guidance, which will include a review of those elements of the Guidance dealing with gender issues. The review will focus on how the Guidance has been implemented and whether any further changes are needed in order to ensure that the Guidance is effective and user-friendly. The review will also be an opportunity for users of the Guidance to provide feedback on the content of the Guidance, including the extent to which it supports our goal of protecting and promoting women's rights.

Occupied Territories: Housing

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the effects of house demolitions in the west bank; what assistance the Government plans to provide to Bedouins in Anata following the demolition of their houses; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Our officials in the British embassy in Tel Aviv and the British Consulate General in Jerusalem monitor events in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and make daily reports on various issues including demolitions. Demolitions of houses and the eviction of Palestinians from their homes are deeply unhelpful when the focus should be on confidence-building steps with the aim of giving momentum to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
	I most recently raised concerns over plans to move west bank Bedouin communities with Deputy Foreign minister Danny Ayalon on 9 January. Our officials at the embassy in Tel Aviv regularly discuss the issue with the Israeli authorities. The Israeli authorities state that they are yet to finalise their plans and will consult fully with Bedouin communities before moving ahead. The UK continues to encourage the Israeli Government to carry through on this commitment, to comply fully with their obligations under international law and to ensure that any decision reached on the movement of Bedouin communities should be made with their full consent and not result in a forcible transfer.
	The UK provides assistance through a number of organisations to enable Bedouin and other affected individuals to make legal representations against demolitions and evictions.

Pitcairn Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department are responsible for the Pitcairn Islands.

Jeremy Browne: There are around seven Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials with responsibilities relating to Pitcairn, among other duties. Other FCO officials provide specialist support and advice as required.

Serbia: Bail

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many cases of UK nationals having been refused bail by the Serbian criminal justice system his Department was dealing with in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Lidington: The UK Government do not collect data on the number of UK nationals refused bail by the Serbian criminal justice system. However, our embassy in Belgrade are aware of three UK nationals currently on remand in prison in Serbia pending future criminal hearings, one of whom has applied for bail and has had it refused.

Serbia: Detainees

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the welfare of UK passport holders detained by the Serbian criminal justice system.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular staff in Serbia endeavour to visit UK nationals detained by the Serbian authorities as soon as possible after their arrest, and conduct a welfare questionnaire aimed at establishing the conditions they are experiencing in prison, whether they have access to legal representation and to check whether they are being treated in line with internationally accepted standards in relation to prison conditions.
	Our assessment is that UK nationals are not treated differently in any way from other incarcerated persons within Serbia. As the European Commission's October 2011 Report on Serbia notes, Serbia is continuing to make efforts to improve prison conditions, but many prisons still lack adequate facilities.

Serbia: EU Accession

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of offences under the Serbia criminal justice system that would need to be repealed before that country's accession to the EU.

David Lidington: The UK Government have not made an assessment of the precise legislative changes that Serbia will need to make in order to accede to the European Union (EU). As the European Commission's 2011 Opinion on Serbia's application for EU membership noted, in order to meet EU standards and accede to the EU, Serbia will need to adopt and implement new legislation across a number of fields, including changes to the constitution and criminal code. The UK, in supporting an EU future for Serbia and all countries in the Western Balkans, will continue to insist that applicant states fully comply with the EU's membership criteria before acceding.

Serbia: EU Accession

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account he has taken of the (a) human rights record and (b) rule of law in the Republic of Serbia in formulating his policy on its potential accession to the EU.

David Lidington: The UK Government strongly support an EU future for Serbia, and for all countries in the Western Balkans, but insist that applicant states fully comply with the EU's membership criteria before acceding. This includes meeting the Copenhagen criteria, which require applicant countries to have achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. Applicants must also meet the requirements of the EU acquis, including chapters 23 and 24, which cover judiciary and fundamental rights and justice, freedom and security.
	The European Commission's October 2011 Opinion on Serbia's application for EU membership noted that Serbia has made significant progress against these criteria, but that further implementation of reforms is required. We will continue to encourage, and offer support to, the Serbian authorities in making these necessary reforms.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what communications his Department has received from foreign governments in relation to the Scottish Government's policy of seeking independence for Scotland.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has discussions with, and receives representations from, Governments across the world on a wide range of issues. As has been the custom of successive Governments, we do not routinely publish communications received from foreign Governments.

Syria: Politics and Government

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) military and (b) financial assistance the Government has offered to the Free Syrian Army in the last two months; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The British Government have not offered to provide any military or financial assistance to the Free Syrian Army.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), in a statement following his meeting with members of the Syrian opposition on 21 November emphasised Britain's commitment to supporting peaceful democratic change in Syria:
	“We call on all sides to refrain from violence, show restraint and vocalise their support for peaceful protest.”

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution his Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) signed up to the renewed Compact published in December 2010. Much of our activity takes place overseas so is not within the remit of the Compact. We work hard, however, to strengthen and support civil society in all the countries that we work in.
	The FCO make it as easy as possible for staff to contribute to their community by giving all employees up to five days paid special leave a year for this, whether in the UK or abroad. Many staff also choose to give up their own time to volunteer.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Education

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people in Afghanistan have undertaken an education programme funded by his Department in the last three years.

Andrew Mitchell: Education is vital for Afghanistan's long-term prosperity. The UK supports the Afghan education system by pooling funds with other donors through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) which helps to co-ordinate international funding and strengthens Afghan government financial systems. UK aid channelled via the ARTF has helped ensure that now 5.8 million children are attending school—almost 40% of them girls. Our contribution has also helped train teachers and rebuild schools. DFID is also funding technical and vocational education and training. We have provided training for 3,460 citizens of Helmand province so far, helping them to find employment and apprenticeships.

Afghanistan: Females

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had on increasing female representation in political life in Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
	In advance of the International Conference on Afghanistan in Bonn on 5 December, I met Afghan civil society representatives and female parliamentarians and discussed the importance of women participating fully in the political process.
	The Government's International Violence Against Women Champion, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), attended the Civil Society Forum on Afghanistan in Bonn where she reiterated the British Government's commitment to an inclusive political process in Afghanistan and the importance of the protection of Afghan women's rights. She also met a range of representatives from Afghan civil society and discussed female representation in political life.

Afghanistan: Terrorism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Pakistan on reducing (a) Taliban and (b) terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has had regular discussions with his Pakistani counterpart, most recently in December 2011. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs encouraged Pakistan to play a full role in the stabilisation of Afghanistan and in the improvement of regional security. We welcome Pakistan's agreement to the Istanbul Process on regional security and co-operation drawn up at the Istanbul Conference in November 2011. It is important that both Afghanistan and Pakistan work together to improve their long-term prosperity and security.

Charities: Education

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of his Department's joint working with the education charity Tide.

Stephen O'Brien: DFID's joint working with TIDE was subject to a full evaluation as part of the 2009 “Review of DFID's work to Build Support for Development through the education system” completed by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Developing Countries: Employment

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what definition of new jobs created his Department uses in respect of its country plans.

Stephen O'Brien: Currently Department for International Development (DFID) country offices choose definitions of job creation appropriate to the local context. The range of job definitions includes:
	Wage employment in the formal sector
	Wage employment in the informal sector
	Increase in income for self-employed individuals/households
	These are designed to capture the variety of situations where a DFID intervention has given people the opportunity to earn their way out of poverty. Income increase is a particularly relevant metric in rural areas, especially amongst farming households, while wage employment is more commonly the focus in urban interventions. Policy interventions also tend to focus on formal employment (ie data collected by national statistics offices).

Employment

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how he will measure progress made towards his target to support jobs and opportunities to generate income for more than 10 million people.

Stephen O'Brien: The overall Department for International Development (DFID) target of supporting jobs and opportunities to generate income for more than 10 million people is derived from the targets in the plans of DFID country offices and UK-based departments. These operational plans can be found on the DFID website at
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Site-search/?q=operational+plans
	Each country office and department is responsible for monitoring progress against its operational plan on the basis of progress reports received from projects and programmes as well as periodic reviews and evaluations.

Ethiopia: Resettlement

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information his Department holds on whether any UK aid to Ethiopia has been spent on the villagization programme in the Gambella region.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development does not directly support the Government of Ethiopia's villagisation programme, despite requests for us to do so.
	UK aid helps provide health and education services and clean water to tens of millions of poor people across Ethiopia. We are committed to providing basic services to people wherever they live. A small proportion of this nationwide-support is being provided in areas that are included in the villagisation programme in Gambella.

Ethiopia: Resettlement

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make representations to the Ethiopian Government for it to halt the villagisation programme in the Gambella region.

Stephen O'Brien: The villagisation programme has the potential to provide better services to people in rural areas. But only if it is well designed and managed.
	Ministers and senior officials have raised our concerns with senior members of the Ethiopian Government that the programme is being poorly implemented. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) raised our concerns again when he visited Ethiopia last week to attend the African Union summit

Ethiopia: Resettlement

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the villagisation programme in the Gambella region; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: The UK Government led an independent multi-agency mission to Gambella in February 2011. The mission found no evidence of systemic or widespread human rights abuses or forced movement of communities. The mission did find that the villagisation programme was poorly planned and implemented. For example, new sites often did not have facilities such as schools and health centres in place. Latest reports from partners indicate that new infrastructure is slowly being put in place and also that some people are being allowed to return to their places of origin.
	The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), issued a public statement on the situation after the release of Human Rights Watch report last week on villagisation in Gambella which confirmed that we are taking a close look at their findings and will raise any concerns with the Ethiopian Government.

EU External Trade: Rainforests

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of recent progress by the EU in negotiating further Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade voluntary partnership agreements with rainforest nations.

Stephen O'Brien: Negotiations of Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) voluntary partnership agreements (VPA) have been concluded with Ghana, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Liberia and Indonesia. Formal negotiations on partnerships are under way with four countries: Malaysia, Vietnam, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The European Union is also in preliminary discussions with Thailand, Lao PDR, Cote d'Ivoire, Guyana, Honduras, Colombia and Ecuador; and these may result in new negotiations this year and next.

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development has published a selection of information released in response to Freedom of Information requests on its website. All such information is published on a dedicated page. It is not possible to calculate the average time taken between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website. DFID does not retain information on the dates of changes made to this part of its website to allow such a calculation to be made.

India: Tuberculosis

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of recent reports of an outbreak of totally drug resistant tuberculosis in India.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK attaches great importance to the control of all forms of drug resistant tuberculosis (TB), which pose a significant public health hazard. We fund the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide technical support to the Government of India on TB control.
	WHO is working closely with the Indian Government to better understand the clinical situation of affected patients and give public health advice to protect patients, families, care-givers and the community. The local health authorities are mounting an effective public health response, including:
	(a) mandatory notification of all TB cases from labs and providers,
	(b) finding and treating any known multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extremely drug resistant (XDR) TB cases,
	(c) immediate universal access to free MDR and XDR TB diagnosis and treatment in Mumbai,
	(d) strengthening basic TB control in the city, with a major investment in systems, people, and infrastructure.

Overseas Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has provided to the overseas territories of other countries in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) provides no bilateral funding to overseas territories of other countries. However, DFID provides the United Kingdom's contribution to the European Development Fund (EDF). The EDF provides development support to African, Caribbean and Pacific states as well as to EU member states' overseas countries and territories, including British overseas territories. Each EDF agreement provides funding over a four or five year period.
	EDF allocations to all EU member states' overseas countries and territories since 1998, including the UK's contribution to these allocations, is set out as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Period of allocation Contribution UK’s approximate contribution 
			 EDF 8 1998 to 2003 165 21 
			 EDF 9 2003 to 2007 175 22 
			 EDF10 2008 to 2013 285 42

Overseas Territories: Business

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department gives to small businesses in British Overseas Territories.

Alan Duncan: Providing support to small business development is a key element of the Department for International Development's (DFID) assistance, to British Overseas Territories that are in receipt of financial aid. These businesses are a priority for the aid programme because they are critical to increasing the role of the private sector in driving economic growth. This is especially important for Montserrat and St. Helena, where dependence on UK aid transfers is greatest.
	This year, DFID is providing £500,000 to the St. Helena Development Agency so that it can support new business development on the island. In addition, we are providing support to tourism development activities to get the island ready for the airport which is scheduled to open in late 2015. In Montserrat, we are providing around £700,000 this year to help small businesses secure access to finance to assist their businesses in tourism and other key sectors.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has had any discussions with the Sri Lankan government on (a) the human rights situation in the North and East of that country and (b) access to those areas for independent human rights monitors.

Alan Duncan: Ministers at the Department for International Development have not had any discussions with the Sri Lankan Government on the human rights situation in the North and East of that country, or on access to those areas for independent human rights monitors. The high commission in Colombo, however, regularly meets with the Sri Lankan Government to discuss a range of human rights issues including access for monitors.

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the post-conflict humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka; and whether he has discussed with the Sri Lankan government any proposals to improve the situation.

Alan Duncan: The UK continues to have concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka, including disappearances and extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and restrictions on free expression. Ministers at the Department for International Development have not held discussions with the Sri Lankan Government. Ministers in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our high commission in Colombo continue to raise the matter with the Sri Lankan Government.

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) assessment he has made of and (b) discussions he has had with the Sri Lankan government on food security and shelter for people from the North and East of that country.

Alan Duncan: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is one of the main providers of humanitarian assistance in Sri Lanka. Its shelter grant project continues to help people from the North and East restart their lives; including through livelihoods support.
	Ministers at the Department for International Development have not had any recent discussions with the Sri Lankan Government on food security and shelter for people from the North and East of that country, but the high commission in Colombo has regular discussions with the World Food Programme about the situation in Sri Lanka and continues to raise the importance of ensuring internally displaced people are living in adequate conditions.

Tanzania: Radar

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance BAe Systems has sought from his Department on the oversight of the £29.5 million the company was required to pay to the government of Tanzania following its conviction of financial offences connected with the sale of a radar system to Tanzania; when he expects the payment to be made; and whether BAE Systems will pay interest earned on the sum over the period since the court ordered the payment to be made.

Stephen O'Brien: BAe Systems have requested the Department for International Development's (DFID) assistance to work with the Government of Tanzania to finalise the details on the specific use of the funds and ensure the appropriate procurement, monitoring, reporting and audit arrangements are in place. At DFID's suggestion, BAe Systems will be party to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) governing these arrangements, together with the Government of Tanzania, DFID and the UK's Serious Fraud Office.
	The MoU and annexes is close to being finalised and is expected to be signed in February. Under the provisions of the MoU, the payment must be made within 14 banking days of signature by all parties and will include the interest accrued on the sum before it is transferred by BAe Systems.

Third Sector

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken to ensure Compact compliance in determining the future of his Department's relationship with the educational charity Tide.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development's (DFID) funding relationship with the educational charity TIDE ended in August 2010 following the findings of the 2009 “Review of building support for development through the education system” completed by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The process to arrive at a decision to terminate this funding relationship, and its implementation, were based on the guidance in the Third Sector Compact. All recommendations of the 2009 review, including the proposal to terminate the “Enabling Effective Support” programme (through which TIDE received DFID funding) were subject to three months consultation prior to the decision to terminate the programme. The findings of this consultation, together with the decision to terminate the programme were published on the DFID website on 18 January 2010. All projects were given a seven month grace period to complete activities prior to the withdrawal.

Tuberculosis: Drugs

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information his Department holds on progress made by UNITAID to (a) triple access to rapid tests for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and (b) significantly reduce the price of drug-resistant tuberculosis medicines.

Stephen O'Brien: UNITAID is having a positive impact on markets for TB drugs, including for multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). With UNITAID funding, new laboratory infrastructure has been established in 18 countries. 10 of these are routinely diagnosing MDR-TB. Using state-of-the-art tests provided through UNITAID's support. We expect countries to have detected approximately 12,000 MDR-TB cases by the end of 2011 compared with only 2,300 MDR-TB cases notified by these same countries in 2008.
	To provide faster treatment and stop the spread of MDR-TB, UNITAID supports a Strategic Rotating Stockpile (SRS) of 5,800 patient treatments. Treatment delivery time for urgent orders has been reduced from over 100 days to less than 30 with SRS.
	But the price of anti-TB medicines remains high, especially for MDR-TB. The costs of active pharmaceutical ingredients and oil for the manufacturing process have increased. Nonetheless, 15 out of 16 first-line TB medicines have shown reduced or maintained prices from 2009 and as more cases are detected, the size of the second-line market will increase, making it more attractive to generic manufacturers. The addition of four new quality generic suppliers of existing MDR-TB medicines is already improving the sustainability of the market for these medicines. Any movements in prices will be reported by UNITAID in the coming months once the data are collected and verified.

World Bank

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the World Bank on the World Development Report 2013 on jobs.

Stephen O'Brien: In the UK's statement to the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the World Bank, the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), made clear that we welcome the planned World Development Report 2013 on jobs. Jobs are the lynch-pin in translating economic growth into effective poverty reduction.
	We have encouraged the World Bank to deliver a report that is built on solid evidence and analysis and that provides very clear policy-options for stimulating job-creation, not least for poor women and in fragile states. Officials have been instructed to continue technical consultations with the bank over the coming months to this effect.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

British Constitution

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether a commission on the UK's constitutional future was discussed by delegates at the most recent meetings of the (a) British-Irish Council and (b) Joint Ministerial Council.

Nicholas Clegg: No such commission was discussed at the most recent meetings of either the British-Irish Council or the Joint Ministerial Council.
	The published communiqués for both meetings set out details of the matters discussed. These can be found at:
	http://www.britishirishcouncil.org/communiqu%C3%A9s/communiqu%C3%A9-17th-bic-summit-dublin
	and
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/joint-ministerial-committee-%E2%80%93-communique

TREASURY

Bank of Ireland

Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has had any discussions with the Financial Services Authority on the interests of Bank of Ireland bondholders in Unsecured Perpetual Subordinated Bonds originally issued by the Bristol and West Building Society.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 8 November 2011
	Treasury Ministers and officials meet senior members of the Financial Services Authority on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of economic and financial issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of such meetings.

Business: Disclosure of Information

Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his policy is on project-by-project reporting of contracts between governments and extractive industry companies;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU member states on financial transparency in corporate dealings.

David Gauke: As the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), have made clear, the UK is pressing for requirements to be placed on EU extractives companies to disclose the payments they make to foreign governments. EU discussions on this subject are ongoing and officials are engaging with the European Commission and EU member states on this issue.

Child Care Tax Credit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women he estimates will leave employment as a result of child care support being reduced from 80 to 70 per cent. of cost.

David Gauke: holding answer 25 January 2012
	The information requested is not available.

Community Development Tax Relief

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2012, Official Report, column 33W, on community development tax relief, what assessment he has made of the ways in which the Community Investment Tax Relief is not as effective as it could be; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Government are in the process of informally consulting on Community Investment Tax Relief.

EU Budget: Contributions

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made an assessment of the net contribution of each (a) nation and (b) region to the EU Budget in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: Details of the UK contributions to the EU budget, including net contributions, are published in the annual European Union Finances documents. The most recent of these were published in December 2011, presenting figures from 2005 to 2011, and it is available on HM Treasury's public website
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/int_eu_statefraud.htm
	Details of other member states' contributions can be found in the European Commission's annual EU Budget Financial Reports. The most recent report was published in October 2011
	http://ec.europa.eu/budget/library/biblio/publications/2010/fin_report/fin_report_10_en.pdf

Excise Duties: Beer

Bob Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the brewing industry of the rate of beer duty.

Chloe Smith: HM Revenue and Customs estimate the effects of changes in duty on prices and, from there, the overall demand effects. These results are published in the following technical paper:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/alcohol-consumption-uk.pdf
	In addition the new high and low strength Beer Duty rates introduced in October 2011 are likely to result in a move to produce and consume lower strength beers.
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), keeps all taxes under review along Budget timelines.

Financial Service Authority

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many fines have been levied by the Financial Services Authority in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: This is a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-to-day operations are independent of Government. I have asked the FSA to write to the hon. Member on the issue he raises. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Individual Savings Accounts

Duncan Hames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the individual annual limit on investments in Individual Savings Accounts was in each tax year since their introduction.

Mark Hoban: The annual subscription limits of Individual Savings Accounts for each tax year since their introduction in 1999 are published in Table 1 of the HMRC ISA Statistics, which can be found at the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/isa/ISA_Statistics-November_2011.pdf

National Insurance: Complaints

Michael Crockart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints HM Revenue and Customs has received in respect of duplicate national insurance numbers given in the last five years; and how many of these cases resulted in (a) the wrong tax code being given, (b) arrears being due from affected individuals and (c) refunds being due to affected individuals.

David Gauke: The NI number is unique to one individual. HMRC and DWP have a robust set of processes in place to ensure duplicate NI numbers are not incorrectly allocated to individuals.
	NI identities may become confused if two or more people end up using the same NI number. However, where confusion is identified action is promptly taken to establish the reason for the confusion and to identify the true owner.
	It would require a manually intensive trawl and be disproportionately expensive to identify the number of complaints received in HMRC over the last five years from individuals whose NI identity may have been confused, subsequently resulting in HMRC issuing incorrect tax codes, billing or payments.

Older People: Finance

Paul Maynard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of gross national income is spent on services for the elderly.

Mark Hoban: Many public services are shared across groups, for example expenditure on roads. It is therefore not possible to provide a clear split between the proportion of national income spent on any particular age group. However, the Office for National Statistics publish an allocation of some public services to households in ‘The Effect of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income, 2009-10’. This includes an analysis of certain benefits in kind for non-retired and retired households for expenditure in 2009-10.

PAYE

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many First Tier Tax Tribunal cases have been brought against HM Revenue and Customs in respect of penalty charges for late receipt of P35 returns; in how many of these tribunals the appellant was successful; and what cost was incurred to the public purse in legal and administrative costs for these tribunals.

David Gauke: HMRC's records show that the First-tier Tribunal received 154 appeals against P35 penalties in 2010-11 and decided 82. The appellant was wholly or partially successful in 22 cases (27%).
	Taxpayers can ask the independent tax tribunals to hear their appeal where they consider that HMRC has made an incorrect decision.
	The information relating to cost is not available.

Revenue and Customs: Bristol

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which tax office will take over the work of the Bristol office following its closure.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) currently has four offices in Bristol. On 25 January HMRC confirmed that Norfolk House, Bristol will close during the 2013-14 financial year. This follows feasibility work which considered the impact of closure on staff and the business. The intention is for staff to relocate with their work to The Crescent Centre, Temple Back, Bristol. Enquiry Centre services will remain in the locality.

Revenue and Customs: Closures

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria he took into account in determining the tax offices for closure before 2015.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) business planning determines the requirements for accommodation during the spending review (SR) period. This includes projected reductions in staffing levels over the SR period, where HMRC lines of business have indicated they do not want to retain a presence, where staff numbers are too low for the office to be cost effective or where HMRC can take advantage of forthcoming lease breaks. When any offices are proposed for closure, feasibility and equality impact assessment work is undertaken before a final decision is made. This includes one-to-one meetings between staff and their managers to ensure that their personal circumstances are taken into account; analysis of equality data to highlight areas of risk or significant impact; and estates work to consider the planning and implementation aspects of closure.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the proportion of calls answered of reductions in staffing at HM Revenue and Customs.

David Gauke: HMRC is fully committed to improving service for customers. The percentage of call attempts handled by its contact centres April to December 2011 has risen to 74% compared to just 44% during the same period last year.
	HMRC plans to continue to improve its level of service over the 2010 spending review period.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what level of access to HM Revenue and Customs' tax credit computer system staff employed by Teleperformance at the Bathgate contact centre will have;
	(2)  what level of access to HM Revenue and Customs' tax credit computer system staff employed by Sitel at the Lillyhall contact centre will have;
	(3)  how many tax credit claimants' personal details employees of Teleperformance will have access to under the terms of HM Revenue and Customs' contract with Teleperformance to provide call handling services at the Bathgate contact centre;
	(4)  how many tax credit claimants' personal details employees of Sitel will have access to under the terms of HM Revenue and Customs' contract with Sitel to provide call handling services at the Lillyhall contact centre.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Livingston (Graeme Morrice) on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 70W.

Seized Articles

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers the Government has to seize shipments of strategic goods passing through UK ports where they are bound for (a) embargoed and (b) non-embargoed destinations.

David Gauke: Enforcement of strategic export controls is the responsibility of HM Revenue and Customs and the UK Border Agency. The powers to seize shipments of strategic goods are contained in the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. Section 68 of that Act makes it an offence to export or bring to a place of export any goods the exportation of which would be contrary to any prohibition or restriction in force; contravention of section 68 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 renders the goods liable to forfeiture. Officers of HM Revenue and Customs and UK Border Agency can seize the goods under section 139 of the same Act. The same powers apply for both embargoed and non-embargoed destinations.

Seized Articles

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department issues on the circumstances in which shipments of strategic goods identified as destined for an embargoed destination may be released when passing through UK ports.

David Gauke: HMRC has internal guidance in place for HMRC and UKBA staff dealing with strategic exports to both embargoed and non-embargoed destinations. The guidance is that it is normally appropriate to immediately seize unlicensed strategic goods once it has been established that goods require an export licence or are otherwise in breach of sanctions or embargoes.
	Strategic goods destined for an embargoed destination would normally only be released for export on production of an export licence issued by the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills. Strategic goods destined for embargoed destinations would only be released without a licence where the goods were not subject to control or where a legal exemption existed.

Tax Allowances: Unemployment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has had discussions with the CBI on its proposal to introduce a tax incentive young Britain credit for firms taking on unemployed people aged 16 to 24; and if he will introduce such a tax incentive.

David Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
	A list of ministerial meetings with external organisations is published quarterly on the HM Treasury website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm
	On 25 November 2011, the Government announced an ambitious programme for tackling youth unemployment. Starting in spring, the Youth Contract will deliver:
	an additional 250,000 work experience or sector based work academy places for every unemployed 18 to 24-year-old;
	more Jobcentre Plus support for 18 to 24-year-olds, including extra advisor time and a careers interview from the National Careers Service and weekly, rather than fortnightly, signing;
	a total of 160,000 wage incentive places (at £2,275 each) to make it easier for employers to take on young people. This has been welcomed by the CBI and is more generous than their proposal of incentive payments of £1,500;
	additional funding to support the growth of 16-24 apprenticeships, ensuring the funding for at least 40,000 incentive payments (at £1,500 each) for employers next year to raise demand for 16-24 apprenticeships; and
	a new £50 million a year programme for those 16 and 17-year-olds not in employment, education or training to get them learning, on an apprenticeship or in a job with training.

Tax Collection

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the closure of HM Revenue and Customs offices on the collection of tax revenues.

David Gauke: To meet the efficiencies required by the spending review (SR) settlement, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is making changes to the way it delivers its business objectives. By 2015 it will be a smaller, highly skilled department working across fewer sites with an increased focus on compliance.
	HMRC is committed to bringing in an additional £7 billion a year by 2014-15 and this is being achieved by the expansion and transformation of compliance activity across the country. Enforcement and Compliance is expected to increase its staff by 2,500 between 2011 and 2015. This will take place against a background of an overall reduction in HMRC numbers and offices and the majority of new posts will be filled by internal redeployment from business areas which are contracting.
	The office closures occurring during the SR period to 2015 reflect the fact that there will be 10,000 fewer staff and HMRC can make more efficient use of space across its entire estate and make savings.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Trust

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has made an assessment of the economic value to the Carbon Trust of its branding.

Gregory Barker: The Department has not made an assessment of the economic value to the Carbon Trust of its branding.
	However, under the terms and conditions of DECC's grant to the Carbon Trust, a private company limited by guarantee, the trust must comply with European state aid rules and ensure that use of grant does not unlawfully subsidise any. commercial activity.

Departmental Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many away days his Department has held since May 2010; and what the cost was of each event.

Gregory Barker: We have interpreted away day to include team and group away days and requested replies as such:
	Total number of away days—42
	Total cost of away days—£72,801
	Total number of staff attending—1800
	Average cost per head—£40.50
	Away days are an investment by teams in planning, improving performance or enhancing skills and business relationships.
	The change of environment and the time spent together without distractions allows teams to focus on their challenges.
	While facilitators are not always used, they provide structure and purpose to the day. They are used very successfully in the private and public sector as a productive means of meeting a team's objectives.
	
		
			 Event date Event title/function Event venue Number of staff attended Event costs (£) 
			 15 June 2010 and 5 November 2010 Finance away days— Business planning BIS Conference Centre, Victoria Street, SW1 (1)30 (2)320 
			 25 June 2010 CESA (Team 1) away day Reading Uni 10 175 
			 14 July 2010 International Energy and Climate Change (IECC)—group away day London Wetlands Centre, Barnes, London 105 7,055.58 
			 29 July 2010 IECC Senior Leadership Away Day—to strengthen the senior leadership team, facilitated by an executive coach and including the hire of facilities. Coin Street Community Building, London 10 3,759.48 
			 5 August 2010 Energy Markets and Infrastructure (EMI) Directors Business Planning Meeting Commonwealth Club, Northumberland Avenue 12 478.03 
			 10 August 2010 CESA (Team 2) away day Mothers Union 8 403.68 
			 27 September 2010 Science and Innovation Group—team building National Physical Laboratory 41 838.62 
			 4 October 2010 EMI SCS event to discuss EMI objectives and the year ahead and CSR/addressing staff issues Institute of Government, Carlton Gardens, SW1 30 803.75 
			 8 October 2010 EMI All staff (London) event—to understand EMI objectives, update on people plan and discuss CSR concerns BIS Conference Centre 225 2,575 
			 15 December 2010 EMI Directors business planning meeting Commonwealth Club, Northumberland Avenue, SW1 13 767.25 
			 27 January 2011 Strategy directorate away day Fulham Craven cottage meeting room 30 1,304 
			 16 February 2011 Strategic analysis volunteering day London Wildlife Trust, Camley Street National Park, 12 Camley Street, London N1 4PW 22 1,276 
			 16 March 2011 Green deal teams all staff event Civil Services Sports and Leisure Centre 46 450 
			 18 March 2011 Coal liabilities unit (CLU) away day (EDU Directorate) Dexter House 2 Royal Mint Court Tower Hill 20 1,200 
			 14 April 2011 OCCS staff away day BIS Conference Centre 70 810 
			 18 April 2011 Finance team away day One Great George Street 45 2,503.50 
			 9 May 2011 Planning and performance away day BIS Conference Centre 15 334.50 
			 23 May 2011 DECC Legal offsite event Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre, London SE1 9NH 45 4,517.40 
			 23 May 2011 Commercial team away day Virtual Office Group 8 346.80 
			 16 June 2011 Feed-in tariffs away day Coventry 8 (3)500 
			 26 June 2011 EMN team leaders away day Wallacespace 2 Dryden Street, London WC2E 9NA 16 1,286.40 
			 31 August 2011 ICC away day St Martins in the Field 45 1,132.25 
			 1 September 2011 Press Office and Ecomms teams away day Wallacespace, 2 Dryden Street, London WC2E 9NA 13 1,148 
			 12 September 2011 L and D board away day Broadway House 12 512 
			 28 September 2011 NDSD away day Old Admiralty 40 347.40 
			 29 September 2011 Energy Markets and Infrastructure (EMI) directors event to discuss priorities and risks for year head and working better as a team and across DECC The Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace, London SW1 12 1,891 
			 4 October 2011 EMI SCS Event to prepare for all staff event on 7 October 2011—discuss EMI objectives and priorities for the year ahead and update on the EMI people plan Institute for Government, Carlton Gardens, London , SW1 29 747.00 
			 7 October 2011 EMI all staff (London) event—To explain EMI priorities and objectives for the year ahead and update on the EMI people plan BIS Conference Centre (4)250 2,431.25 
			 7 October 2011 Smart Meters programme BIS Conference Centre 80-90 2,698 
			 21 October 2011 SEG away day ETC Venue 150 9,000 
			 26 October 2011 EMN team leaders away day Wallacespace, 2 Dryden Street, London WC2E 9NA 11 1,082.40 
		
	
	
		
			 4 November 2011 ICCEE Group senior leadership forum post DECC restructure Devonport House Hotel 8 3,900 
			 9 November 2011 Energy Markets and Infrastructure (EMI) directors business planning meeting The Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace, London SW1 14 688.00 
			 14 November 2011 Heat and industry away day St Martins in the Field 30-50 2,994 
			 17 November 2011 Offshore inspectorate planning event 210 Bistro Business Centre 20 1,248 
			 29 November 2011 Future electricity networks away day National Grid, Wokingham 14 330.88 
			 30 November 2011 Energy economics analysis away day Eastbury House, London 20 290.58 
			 15 December 2011 Finance team away day One Great George Street 35 1,215.60 
			 17 January 2012 EMM all staff away day One Drummond Gate, Victoria, London, SW1V 2QQ 95 6,802 
			 18/01/12 Away session for programme support and delivery team in green deal directorate Southwark Cathedral Conference Centre 18 576 
			 19 January 2012 Office for Nuclear Development away day Thistle Hotel Westminster (4)50 2,062 
			 (1) 30 At each. (2) For both. (3) Travel only (4) Approximate.

Departmental Work Experience

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what work experience or traineeship schemes his Department offers to minority groups.

Gregory Barker: DECC participates in the “Whitehall Internship” programme which offers placements to people including college students and under graduates from underrepresented groups including black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. So far we have had three placements for 16 to 18-year-olds (and will be taking the same number again this year) and in addition we will be offering two graduate and undergraduate age placements this summer (2012).
	We have also offered two, week long, placements for school age (under 16) through the Access Project in 2011 which aims to improve disadvantaged students' chances of gaining places at “Russell Group” universities.

Environmental Transformation Fund

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the long-term finance from the Environmental Transformation Fund for developing countries was delivered through (a) his Department, (b) non-governmental organisations and (c) multilateral agencies between 2008-09 and 2010-11.

Gregory Barker: The International Window of the Environmental Transformation Fund provided £800 million of international climate finance for developing countries between 2008-09 and 2010-11. £400 million was provided from DECC's budget and £400 million from DFID. All of the finance was delivered through multilateral agencies: £735 million to the Climate Investment Funds; £50 million to the Congo Basin Forest Fund; and £15 million to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility.

Fuel Poverty

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of pensioner households in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK were in fuel poverty (i) in each year since 2000 and (ii) on the latest date for which information is available.

Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is a devolved measurement and each country of the UK is responsible for measuring the number of fuel poor households in their own country. The method for estimating whether a householder is a pensioner differs between countries. The following tables show the number of fuel poor households (in thousands) containing a pensioner in each year since 2000 for which they have been measured. Fuel poverty figures for England for 2010 will be published in May 2012. Figures for Wales and Northern Ireland are not produced every year, so it is not possible to produce a consistent UK based estimate. The 2010 figures for Scotland were based on fuel prices at the time. Fuel prices have since increased.
	
		
			 Number of pensioner households in fuel poverty 
			 Thousand 
			  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland 
			 2010 n/a 357 n/a n/a 
			 2009 2,045 438 n/a 149 
			 2008 1,720 344 135 n/a 
			 2007 1,462 361 n/a n/a 
			 2006 1,285 324 n/a 115 
			 2005 794 224 n/a n/a 
			 2004 604 n/a 54 78 
			 2003 634 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2002 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2001 1,058 n/a n/a 82 
			 2000 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			 Percentage of pensioner households in fuel poverty 
			 Percentage 
			  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland 
			 2010 n/a 48 n/a n/a 
			 2009 26 57 n/a 62 
			 2008 22 46 42 n/a 
			 2007 18 51 n/a n/a 
			 2006 17 44 n/a 47 
			 2005 11 30 n/a n/a 
			 2004 8 n/a 18 38 
		
	
	
		
			 2003 9 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2002 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2001 15 n/a n/a 37 
			 2000 n/a n/a n/a n/a

Green Deal Scheme

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with HM Treasury on the use of the £200 million additional funding recently announced to incentivise take-up of the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: My officials are in the process of considering options for how to use the £200 million funding to incentivise uptake of the Green Deal, and have had a number of discussions with HM Treasury on this matter.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2012, Official Report, column 622W, on solar power: feed-in tariffs, what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of legal proceedings arising from the decision to reduce feed-in tariffs for solar energy including costs relating to the appeal.

Gregory Barker: We estimate that the Government have incurred costs of approximately £66,400 to date; this includes the cost of the first hearing as well as the recent appeal court hearing.
	If the Supreme Court agrees to hear our case then we will incur more costs, however, if the Supreme Court then ultimately finds in our favour, we will expect to recover all or a substantial proportion of our costs.
	We are doing this to protect consumers bills, the annual cost to consumers if we did not act could be £100 million per year—more than a 1,000 times our legal costs to date. The cost of defending ourselves in court pales in comparison to the £1.5 billion additional lifetime cost if we do not act.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been spent from the public purse on legal proceedings in respect of his decision to reduce rates for solar feed-in tariffs; what the cost was for each (a) trial and (b) appeal stage of the legal process; and what estimate he has made of the total overall cost of the proceedings relating to the (i) seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court and (ii) any subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the costs to the public purse has been of legal fees arising from each stage of the judicial review proceedings relating to its feed-in tariffs proposals.

Gregory Barker: We estimate that the Government have incurred costs of approximately £66,400 to date; this includes the cost of approximately £58,000 up to the point of judgment in the High Court and a further £8,400 to include the recent hearing in the Court of Appeal.
	If the Supreme Court agrees to hear our case then we will incur more costs, but it is not possible to estimate this cost at this stage. If the Supreme Court ultimately finds in our favour, we will expect to recover all or a substantial proportion of our costs. We are doing this to protect consumers bills, the annual cost to consumers if we did not act could be £100 million per year—more than a 1000 times our legal costs to date. The cost of defending ourselves in court pales in comparison to the £1.5 billion additional lifetime cost if we do not act.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of the warm homes discount budget under the terms of the control framework for his Department's levy-funded spending that will be spent on (a) assisting those receiving the guarantee credit element of pension credit and (b) low income and vulnerable households at risk of fuel poverty in the next 12 month period for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: The Warm Home Discount Scheme impact assessment sets out the levels of expenditure to assist households in or at risk of fuel poverty. These are shown in the following table by activity and scheme year. The next 12-month period for which figures are available is 2012-13. Those in receipt of pension credit guarantee credit only, or aged 80 and over and in receipt of both pension credit guarantee/savings credit will be eligible to receive a Core Group discount in 2012-13. These pension credit recipients and other low income and vulnerable households may also receive assistance under the other elements of the scheme.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Expenditure type 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Core Group 97 143 159 190 
			 Broader Group 3 47 88 90 
			 Total Legacy Spending and Industry Initiatives Cap: 150 85 53 30 
			 Legacy Spending Cap 140 70 35 O 
			 Industry Initiatives Cap 30 30 30 30 
			 Total 250 275 300 310

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Arms Trade: Libya

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  on what dates in February 2012 overseas trade missions in support of UK defence and security exports planned by the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation to Libya are scheduled to take place; what the overall budget is for the mission; which companies will be represented on the mission; whether any companies have been sponsored by the Government to attend; and what the cost to the public purse was of sponsorship to each such company;
	(2)  if he will call for a robust Arms Trade treaty during the overseas trade missions to Libya in February 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade  Investment (UKTI) Defence  Security Organisation is organising a civil security trade mission to Libya near the end of February 2012. The Government are not sponsoring participating companies and costs will be largely offset by contributions by companies. The list of companies attending is not yet finalised.
	Securing a robust Arms Trade treaty is a priority for this Government. Ministers of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills do not plan to accompany the civil security trade mission to Libya.

Business: Scotland

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department provided to small and medium-sized enterprises located in (a) Glasgow and (b) Scotland in the last two years.

Mark Prisk: In addition to general measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK start up and grow, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skill has introduced a number of specific schemes to provide direct support to SMEs.
	The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) was introduced to help SMEs access the finance they need to start up and grow their businesses. This is a targeted measure aimed at enabling additional lending to viable SMEs that have insufficient security or proven track record with which to secure a normal commercial loan. We have announced continuation of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme until 2014/15 providing, subject to demand, over £2 billion of additional lending over the next four years and the scheme was extended in January to include businesses with up to £44 million annual turnover, and to announce a number of new accredited lenders. Since the launch of the scheme until December 2011, 1,164 loans have been offered to SMEs in Scotland, totalling £162.78 million.
	A new Export Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme (ExEFG) was also launched last year, providing up to £1 million of lending to support viable SME exporters who are unable to access a commercial loan. And to address the equity gap for early stage innovative SMEs with the highest growth potential, we have also announced the continuation of the Government's Enterprise Capital Funds programme, increasing our commitment by £200 million over the next four years and providing for more than £300 million of venture capital investment. As of 30 September 2011, 4% of investments (by number) under this programme were in Scotland.
	With regard to support for exporting and trade promotion, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has lead responsibility for the UK as a whole for the provision of support and assistance to new and existing exporters of goods and services. In Scotland, Scottish Development International (SDI), funded by the Scottish Government, acts as our delivery partner for UKTI trade development services to Scottish based companies. To complement the UKTI offer, SDI additionally offers its own programme of services to Scottish businesses.
	All UKTI trade services are available to companies based in Scotland, apart from Passport to Export and Gateway to Global Growth, which are only available to companies based in England (SDI provides their own equivalent service locally). This includes access to UKTI's overseas network in some 96 markets across the globe and services such as the Overseas Market Introduction Service taken up by 238 Scottish businesses in 2011/12 (to end December 2011), the Tradeshow Access Programme with 115 grants to Scottish companies in 2011/12 (to end December 2011), the Export Marketing Research Scheme and the Export Communication Review.
	The Technology Strategy Board is the prime channel through which the Government support business-led technology innovation and has a UK-wide remit under which Scottish companies are able to apply on equal footing with applicants from other parts of the UK. The Technology Strategy Board provides support through the following programmes:
	Collaborative research and development (RD) projects—brings together businesses (from large corporate to micro companies) and academic partners to undertake RD projects from which successful new products, processes and services can emerge. Projects range in value from £10,000 to over £100 million. Over 900 projects are currently being supported across the UK with a combined business and Government investment of over £1 billion (with just over half the funds committed by business).
	Knowledge Transfer Networks—KTNs are over-arching national networks which aim to improve the UK's innovation performance by increasing the breadth and depth of the knowledge transfer of technology into UK-based businesses. KTNs play a vital role in making the necessary connections between the various players, helping industry to access knowledge and information central to innovation growth. The Technology Strategy Board provides support for 15 KTNs, which have over 43,000 business members (also have 14,000 non-business members).
	Knowledge Transfer Partnerships—KTPs stimulate innovation through collaborative projects between business (including social enterprises) and the knowledge base by facilitating the transfer of knowledge and the spread of technical and business skills through projects undertaken by high calibre, recently qualified, people under the joint supervision of personnel from business and the knowledge base. There are currently over 900 live partnerships across the UK and approximately 75% of the partnerships involve SMEs.
	Smart (previously known as Grant for RD)—Smart offers funding to SMEs to engage in RD projects from which successful new products, processes and services could emerge. Three types of grant are available: proof of market (up to £25,000 grant), proof of concept (up to £100,000 grant), and development of prototype (up to £250,000 grant).
	Small Business Research Initiative—SBRI aims to provide business opportunities for innovative companies while solving the needs of Government Departments. The programme is designed to enable public bodies to fund the development of technology which will meet their future needs or policy objectives. It provides a structured approach and support for the procurement process when acquiring research and development work, particularly the vital engagement with industry.
	Eureka—a pan-European initiative for promoting collaborative business-led RD in fields of advanced technology, in a network encompassing 36 countries. The benefits for UK companies collaborating in Eureka include access to new technologies, the sharing of costs and risks, reduced timescales and access to new overseas markets.

Copyright: Education

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has assessed the compliance of the proposal in the Hargreaves Review to extend education copyright exceptions with the European Directive on Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society 2001.

Edward Davey: The Government are clear that any modernisation to copyright law must be in compliance with EU law as set out in the Information Society Directive 2001/29/EC. The Government are currently in consultation on copyright modernisation, until 21 March 2012 and welcome additional evidence from interested parties. The consultation covers a wide range of copyright issues and sets out a large number of proposals, all of which are accompanied by impact assessments on the potential costs and benefits of various policy options.

Copyright: Education

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with collecting societies on the proposals in the consultation on the Hargreaves Review to extend educational copyright exceptions; and what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the licence fee income for writers and publishers of such exceptions.

Edward Davey: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills my noble Friend the Baroness Wilcox, has regular discussions with the collecting societies on matters of interest to them. The Government's copyright consultation, which runs from 14 December to 21 March 2012, will provide an opportunity for interested organisations and individuals to contribute evidence and data to help inform more robust assessment and analysis of the options under consideration. The initial impact assessment, published alongside the consultation, provides an assessment of the potential costs and benefits for writers and publishers should changes to licensing schemes be made. The Government welcome additional economic evidence from interested parties of the likely effects of amending educational copyright exceptions on the licence fee income for writers and publishers, to help refine its analysis.

Education: Ex-servicemen

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department contributed towards tuition fees incurred by service leavers when fees exceeded the sums provided by the enhanced learning credits scheme in each year since 2007-08.

David Willetts: The Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme commenced in the 2009/10 academic year, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) began making contributions to the scheme in the same year.
	The scheme pays the course fees of service leavers undertaking higher education and further education courses, and contributions are made by the devolved Administrations and by the Department for Education (as appropriate), as well as BIS and the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills contributed £150,000 towards the scheme from its inception up to the end of 2010-11, and has contributed £88,000 so far in the 2011-12 financial year.
	It is not possible to break down the total expenditure by year prior to 2010-11 up to the end of 2010-11 without disproportionate work and associated cost.

Exports: Gulf States

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department made of the value of (a) goods and (b) services exported to the Gulf from the UK in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: Using data published by the Office for National Statistics in Pink Book 2011, the estimated value of goods and services exported to the Gulf in the last five years for which data are available are shown in the table below. Data for 2011 is due for publication in summer 2012.
	
		
			 UK exports to the Arabian Gulf 2006-10 
			 £ billion 
			  2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Goods 7.2 6.8 8.7 8.5 9.4 
			 Services 5.1 5.2 6.0 6.5 7.1 
			 Goods and services 12.3 11.9 14.7 15.0 16.4 
			 Source: ONS Pink Book 2011, tables 9.4 and 9.5. Arabian Gulf is the sum of data for Iran, Saudi Arabia and Residual Gulf Arabian Countries.

Financial Markets

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will add the reasons for recent changes in carbon prices to the terms of reference of Professor John Kay's independent review of investment in UK equity markets.

Edward Davey: The Kay Review has wide terms of reference examining behaviour and trends within the entire investment chain. The Government have no plans at this stage to include reasons for changes in carbon pricing within this.

Foreign Investment in UK: Glasgow

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of (a) the monetary value of foreign investment in (i) Glasgow and (ii) Glasgow South West constituency and (b) the number of jobs created as a consequence in each year since 2005.

Mark Prisk: UKTI do not collate statistics to that level for Scotland. Scottish Development International may be better placed to respond on this matter.

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

Edward Davey: Responses to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which are considered to be of wider public interest are published on the Department's website at
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/site/foi/information-released
	The Department does not publish a response to every FOI request it receives, but also maintains a Publication Scheme at
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/site/foi/publication-scheme
	as a means of providing access to information which is proactively published by the Department.
	The Department does not have available, without incurring disproportionate cost, the average time taken to publish all responses currently on the website, but aims to publish responses within a reasonable period of time.

Higher Education: Admissions

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of university applications have come from each of the socio-economic classes A to D in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: The available information, provided by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), is shown in the following table. The table uses the POLAR2 (Participation of Local Areas), measure of the applicants' background. UCAS do not release applicant numbers by socio-economic classes A to D.
	
		
			 UK domiciled applicants to full-time undergraduate courses in the UK by POLAR2 adult higher education quintiles (1) 
			  Year of entry 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 POLAR2 quintile      
			 1 58,653 67,206 75,753 83,566 84,466 
			 2 76,023 84,964 93,430 102,367 102,961 
			 3 89,114 97,466 107,414 115,914 115,886 
			 4 104,645 112,799 122,038 131,294 130,315 
			 5 120,052 128,521 137,079 146,408 146,904 
			       
			 All known 448,487 490,956 535,714 579,549 580,532 
			       
			 Unknown 5,661 11,505 8,571 7,272 8,818 
			       
			 Grand Total 454,148 502,461 544,285 586,821 589,350 
			       
			 Percentage of known (2)      
			 1 13.1 137 14.1 14.4 14.5 
			 2 17.0 17.3 17.4 17.7 17.7 
			 3 19.9 19.9 20.1 20.0 20.0 
			 4 23.3 23.0 22.8 22.7 22.4 
			 5 26.8 26.2 25.6 25.3 25.3 
			 All 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			 (1) The POLAR2 (participation of local areas) measure was developed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). It ranks local areas by the proportion of adults who hold higher education qualifications, and splits them into quintiles, where quintile 1 includes the 20% of local areas with the lowest percentage of adults with Higher education (HE) qualifications, and quintile 5 includes the 20% of local areas with the highest percentage of adults with HE qualifications. (2) Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Source: UCAS

Higher Education: Intellectual Property

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with Universities UK on the development of an easy access intellectual property (IP) scheme to permit free use of IP where it is not being utilised by the universities which created it.

Edward Davey: The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) leads on Intellectual Property (IP) questions within Government. It has a regular dialogue with UK universities on the protection, development and exploitation of IP assets.
	IPO is gathering examples of different approaches to universities' IP management, including those which enable free use of IP where it is not being utilised by the universities which created it. One example is the approach used by the Easy Access Innovation Partnership—a collaboration between the University of Glasgow, King's College London and the University of Bristol which makes unused university IP available free of charge, through simple one-page agreements.
	IPO will use its findings to develop best practice guidance for all UK universities.

Higher Education: Intellectual Property

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the easy access intellectual property scheme operated by the University of Glasgow; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) leads on Intellectual Property (IP) questions within Government. The IPO welcomes innovative ideas for sharing Intellectual Property Assets in ways that stimulate wider economic growth.
	IPO is supporting a collaboration between the University of Glasgow, King's College London and the University of Bristol in development of their 'Easy Access Innovation Partnership' project. Easy Access IP provides a radical new approach to the licensing of university IP by making it available free of charge, through simple one-page agreements.
	IPO will be making an assessment of the Easy Access IP project once the period for which it provided support has ended. IPO will take forward lessons learned and continue to engage with stakeholders to improve management of IP and Knowledge Exchange in universities to deliver long term benefit to the UK economy and society.

Immigrants: Pay

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the number of migrants in the UK working for less than the minimum wage.

Edward Davey: Our policy is to ensure that all workers who are entitled to the national minimum wage (NMW)—whether migrant or non-migrant—receive it. HM Revenue  Customs investigate all complaints made to them about underpayment of the NMW, as well as working with other Government agencies, including the UK Borders Agency. Anyone who believes they are being underpaid should contact the Pay and Work Rights Helpline.
	This Department does not hold the requested information.

Oil: Canada

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has any plans for UK Trade and Investment missions related to Canadian oil sands developments.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investment has no plans to organise a trade mission to Canada related to oil sands developments.

Overseas Trade: Saudi Arabia

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the monetary value was of Anglo-Saudi trade in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2008.

Mark Prisk: Data published by the Office for National Statistics in their “Pink Book 2011” available on their website:
	www.ons.gov.uk
	shows the following value of trade between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia:
	
		
			 Total trade in goods and services 
			 £ billion 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 UK exports of goods and services to Saudi Arabia 4.2 4.8 5.4 
			 UK imports of goods and services from Saudi Arabia 1.3 0.9 1.0 
			 Total bilateral trade in goods and services: UK and Saudi Arabia 5.5 5.7 6.4 
		
	
	Data for trade between England and Saudi Arabia is published by HM Revenue and Customs in Regional Trade Statistics available via the following website:
	www.uktradeinfo.com
	for goods trade only. Some trade cannot be allocated to a region, and therefore actual trade may be higher than the published values:
	
		
			 Trade in goods 
			 £ billion 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 England exports of goods to Saudi Arabia 2.0 2.2 2.6 
			 England imports of goods from Saudi Arabia 0.6 0.6 0.8 
			 Total bilateral trade in goods: England and Saudi Arabia 2.6 2.8 3.3

Post Offices

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much of the funding allocated to the Post Office network will consist of network subsidy.

Edward Davey: It is expected that just under half of the funding for the Post Office network to 2015 will be utilised as network subsidy.

Post Offices

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which services he expects to be withdrawn from post offices operating under the proposed Post Office Local model.

Edward Davey: Any changes in the range of services available at post offices which move to the Post Office local operating model will be operational decisions for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the managing director of the Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he proposes that his Department will hold consultations on its Post Office network proposals.

Edward Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will not be holding consultations on the arrangements for modernising and investing in the post office network. This programme will be undertaken by Post Office Ltd and participation by sub postmasters will be voluntary. Post Office Ltd has a code of practice agreed with Consumer Focus covering the local consultation and communication processes that are undertaken when there are changes to the branches in the network and this is currently being reviewed by the two organisations in the light of the forthcoming investment and modernisation programme.

Post Offices: Pay

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of the funding of the Post Office network is allocated to payments to retiring sub-postmasters.

Edward Davey: Funding is in place to modernise and invest in the Post Office network but changes to the operating model and ownership of individual branches will take place within a voluntary programme. There is therefore no predetermined proportion of the funding allocated to that specific category of expenditure.

Post Offices: Wrexham

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on which post offices in Wrexham constituency Post Office Ltd plans to operate on the Local model.

Edward Davey: None. Decisions on which post office operating model is appropriate to individual branches are operational matters for Post Office Ltd.

Public Houses

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on (a) community pubs and (b) the introduction of a statutory code of practice for pubs.

Edward Davey: On 16 June 2011 I discussed a range of matters relating to public houses with the Minister for Communities and Pubs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) at the Department for Communities and Local Government, including the potential introduction of a statutory code of practice.

Students: Fees and Charges

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether it is his policy that a university student who has to defer his or her degree course for medical reasons will be charged tuition fees set at the level appertaining at the time of his or her original application.

David Willetts: Students who resume a course that they began in or before the 2011/12 academic year but had suspended it (with the agreement of their university or college) for medical reasons will be charged for tuition under the same arrangements that applied to them when they began the course.
	The new tuition charge arrangements will apply to those students who have accepted a place at university for the 2011/12 academic year but have deferred starting the course until 1 September 2012 or after.

Technology and Innovation Centres

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  where the Connected Digital Economy Catapult Centre will be located;
	(2)  whether he has appointed a leadership team for the Connected Digital Economy Catapult Centre.

David Willetts: The decision to establish the Connected Digital Economy Catapult centre was announced on 26 January. During this year the Technology Strategy Board will be taking the steps to establish the centre and this will include confirmation of the scope, work on the detailed activities for the centre, the appointment of the leadership team and making the decision on the location of the centre itself.

CABINET OFFICE

Charities: Registration

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the effect of the number of charity registrations on the delivery of the Big Society initiative.

Nick Hurd: According to Charity Commission data the total number of registered charities has remained relatively stable in recent years, being 160,515, 162,415 and 161,649 in 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. In 2010-11 (the last full year for which figures are available) 5,589 new charities were registered.
	Charities and other civil society organisations have an important part to play in the Big Society. While it would be difficult to draw any firm conclusions from the data, it is encouraging to see new charities being established and registered.

Employment: Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many disabled people were in paid work in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England and Wales in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many disabled people were in paid work in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England and Wales in the most recent period for which figures are available (92937).
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	Table 1 shows the number of people identifying themselves as disabled who were in employment and resident in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England and Wales, for the 12 month period ending in June 2011, from the APS, the most recent period for which figures are available.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of disabled (1)  people in employment resident in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England and Wales, 12 months ending June 2011 
			  Thousand 
			 England and Wales *3775 
			 South Yorkshire *98 
			 Barnsley ***17 
			 (1) People who are DDA disabled or have a work limiting disability. Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality as follows. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV 5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV 10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV = 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey

Government Departments: Consultants

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether (a) KPMG and (b) other consultancy firms have supplied staff to Government departments without payment in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: During 2010-11 Cabinet Office renegotiated contracts with a number of central Government's large portfolio suppliers on behalf of the Crown. This renegotiation resulted in Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst and Young and PWC agreeing to forego some of their normal payments as part of their contribution to the efficiency savings. We do not hold data on prior years.

Lone Parents

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of households in (a) Poplar and Limehouse constituency, (b) Tower Hamlets and (c) the UK are single parent households.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of households in (a) Poplar and Limehouse constituency, (b) Tower Hamlets and (c) the UK are single parent households (92968).
	The number and type of households in the UK can be estimated using the Annual Population Survey. The percentage of households which are lone parent households with at least one dependent child are provided.
	Data are shown for Poplar and Limehouse constituency, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the UK in 2010.
	
		
			 Percentage of households which are lone parent households with dependent children in Poplar and Limehouse constituency, Tower Hamlets and the UK, 2010 
			 Area Percentage 
			 Poplar and Limehouse 7.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Tower Hamlets 7.5 
			 UK 7.1 
			 Note: Dependent children are those living with their parent(s) and either (a) aged under 16, or (b) aged 16 to 18 in full-time education, excluding children aged 16 to 18 who have a spouse, partner or child living in the household. 
		
	
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the Annual Population Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform plans to reply to the letters of 8 November and 7 December 2011 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay regarding a constituent, Mrs Ruocco-Daley.

Mark Harper: holding answer 20 January 2012
	I replied to the hon. Member's letters yesterday.

Septicaemia: Death

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) men and (b) women have died from septicaemia in England and Wales in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) men and (b) women have died from septicaemia in England and Wales in each of the last three years for which figures are available. (92236)
	Table 1 provides the number of deaths for males and females where septicaemia was the underlying cause, for the years 2008 to 2010 (the latest available year).
	Septicaemia is a condition which often develops in those with an existing serious illness. In these cases, septicaemia will be recorded on the death certificate as a condition that has contributed to a death, but it will not be the underlying cause. Table 2 shows the number of deaths where septicaemia was mentioned on the death certificate, either as the underlying cause or as a contributory factor.
	The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age, cause, marital status and place of death are published annually and are available here:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-27475
	
		
			 Table 1. Number of deaths where septicaemia was the underlying cause of death, England and Wales, 2008-10 (1,2,3) 
			 Deaths 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 Male 981 996 938 
			 Female 1,236 1,284 1,245 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Deaths were included where the underlying cause was Septicaemia (includes meningococcaemia, streptococcal septicaemia and other septicaemia) ICD codes A39.2-A39.4, A40-A41. (2) Figures include deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are based on deaths registered in each calendar year. Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2. Number of deaths where septicaemia was the underlying cause of death or mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, England and Wales, 2008-10 (1,2,3,4) 
			 Deaths 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 Male 11,697 11,648 11,244 
			 Female 14,563 14,027 13,829 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Deaths were included where Septicaemia was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate (includes meningococcaemia, streptococcal septicaemia and other septicaemia) ICD codes A39.2-A39.4, A40-A41. (2) Table 2 includes the deaths presented in table 1. (3) Figures include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are based on deaths registered in each calendar year. Source: Office for National Statistics

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will initiate a cross-government strategy to maximise the use of public sector assets to promote community and social action; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	The Government are funding the Asset Transfer Unit to promote best practice across England and provide advice and expertise on matters relating to asset transfer to community ownership and management. The Unit also managed the recently completed Advancing Assets for Communities demonstration programme which has supported the development of local asset transfer strategies, policies and procedures aimed at communities taking over local authority assets, by providing tailored support to 92 local authority/community partnerships.
	The new community rights contained in the Localism Act will give communities the opportunities to influence development in their areas, bid to buy local assets that are important to them and bid to run local services differently and better. We are currently procuring for an expert delivery agent to deliver a three-year programme to support communities that want to take up these rights.
	In addition, through our work with 11 areas round the country on Capital and Assets Pathfinders, areas have shown how a local joined up approach to public sector assets helps strengthen the sustainability of the voluntary and community sector. This approach is supported across Government Departments and is now led by the sector.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what contribution his Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The Office for Civil Society (OCS) in the Cabinet Office is responsible for the Compact on behalf of Government. This responsibility includes:
	acting as the sponsor department for Compact Voice, (who act as the voice of the voluntary sector on the Compact, with a network of over 2,300 members) including hosting regular governance meetings between the me and the Chair of Compact Voice to report on the effectiveness of the Compact.
	hosting the Annual Compact Awards, recognising excellence in Compact working and promoting best practice.
	liaising with officials across central Government Departments on Compact related business, for example, recently OCS worked with No. 10 and departmental business plan leads on the inclusion of the Compact as a cross departmental agenda item in the 2012-13 business plan refresh. Business plans will be published in the spring.

JUSTICE

Trafficking Victim Support Scheme

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received on the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), has received no recent representations on the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme. Victim care remains fundamental to the Government's comprehensive approach to combating human trafficking.

National Offender Management Service

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that the National Offender Management Service is accountable for the decisions it takes on offenders.

Kenneth Clarke: NOMS is an agency of the Ministry of Justice and has responsibility on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice for commissioning prison and probation services in England and Wales and directly managing offender management services including public sector prisons.
	A framework document sets out the arrangements for the governance, accountability, financing, staffing and operation of the agency and is agreed between the Secretary of State and its chief executive. The framework document is approved by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander).

Domestic Violence Victim Support

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to support victims of domestic violence in the criminal justice system.

Jonathan Djanogly: Since 2007-08 we have contributed just over £9 million towards the funding of the Independent Domestic Violence Advisor service to address the safety needs of victims.
	We are also providing nearly £4.7 million over the next three years through our Victim and Witness General Fund to fund 44 court-based independent domestic violence advisor (IDVA) positions.

Community Sentences

Mel Stride: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to increase the effectiveness of community sentences.

Nick Herbert: We are taking action to strengthen community sentences including making Community Payback more immediate and intensive and through measures in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.
	We have identified that we need to go further still and will be consulting on reforms to ensure that community sentences effectively punish and rehabilitate offenders.

Bill of Rights

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects the Commission on a Bill of Rights to conclude its work and publish its final report.

Kenneth Clarke: Under the Commission's terms of reference, the Commission will report back to the Deputy Prime Minister and me by the end of 2012.

Bribery Act 2010

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent progress he has made towards implementing the Bribery Act 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Kenneth Clarke: The Bribery Act 2010 was commenced on 1 July 2011 following extensive consultation on, and the publication in March 2011 of, guidance on the Act and bribery prevention procedures for businesses—to be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/making-and-reviewing-the-law/bribery.htm
	Prosecution guidance was also published jointly by the Director of the Serious Fraud Office and the Director of Public Prosecutions—to be found at:
	http://www.sfo.gov.uk/bribery--corruption/bribery-act---useful-links.aspx
	The first prosecution and conviction under the Act was in November 2011. Since July 2011 a number of Government Departments and agencies including the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, United Kingdom Trade and Investment, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Attorney-General’s Office, the Serious Fraud Office and the Crown Prosecution Service have continued to promote the effective implementation of the Act through internal awareness raising and training and various outreach initiatives. This work focuses in particular on engagement with the business community on the proportionate application of anti-bribery measures and the provision of information and assistance for UK businesses operating in or seeking to enter foreign markets—see for example:
	http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/?L=0
	and
	http://www.ukti.gov.uk/export/howwehelp/overseasbusinessrisk.html
	In my capacity as the Government's International Anti-Corruption Champion I also raise the profile of the UK's significant contribution to the international anti-bribery consensus. I briefed the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption in November 2011 and I will address delegates at the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group in February in London, which the UK is co-chairing with Mexico. This broad range of initiatives will ensure that the UK continues to be at the forefront of the promotion of ethical business standards and will support export led growth through helping to establish a level playing field for UK business in international commerce.

Community Orders

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) men and (b) women were sent to prison after breaching a community sentence in each year since 2000.

Crispin Blunt: The table shows the number of men and women received into prison for breach of a court order in each year from 2000 to 2009 (the most recent figures available). These figures include those imprisoned for breach of a Community Order, and the range of community sentences that it replaced, and of a Suspended Sentence Order.
	The number of breach receptions grew considerably after 2003, reflecting better enforcement and, from 2005, the effect of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which introduced the Community Order and Suspended Sentence Order.
	
		
			  Male Female 
			 2000 2,334 248 
			 2001 2,555 311 
			 2002 3,367 461 
			 2003 4,736 693 
			 2004 6,335 937 
			 2005 7,084 958 
			 2006 8,601 1,093 
			 2007 11,129 1,303 
			 2008 12,613 1,447 
			 2009 10,418 1,052 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Criminal Proceedings: Costs

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost was of a case heard in a (a) Magistrates' court and (b) Crown court in each year between 1997 and 2011.

Jonathan Djanogly: Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service, HMCTS, has no court cost statistics prior to the creation of Her Majesty's Court Service on 1 April 2005. Since 2007-08 magistrates courts proceedings data recorded by HMCTS is not directly comparable with the data previously recorded by the Office of Criminal Justice Reform. As a result it is not possible to provide comparable average magistrates courts costs per case for 2005-06 and 2006-07.
	The average costs have been derived by dividing the direct costs incurred by the courts in a financial year by the number of hearings reported by the HMCTS performance database for the financial year in the case of magistrates courts and the numbers of disposals and orders made in the financial year in the case of the Crown court.
	The average costs of hearings in magistrates courts and disposals and orders made in Crown courts are as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Crown court Magistrates courts 
			 2005-06 1,639 n/a 
			 2006-07 1,594 n/a 
			 2007-08 1,519 154 
			 2008-09 1,492 169 
			 2009-10 1,488 174 
			 2010-11 1,441 168 
		
	
	The costs relate to judicial remuneration allocated to the Crown courts and administration and court costs incurred directly by the courts, excluding overheads and depreciation.

European Regulations on Civil Jurisdiction

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has made to the European Commission on the extension to third state nationals of European regulations on civil jurisdiction.

Kenneth Clarke: I have made no formal representations to the European Commission on this issue. However, I have made clear in discussions that the Government are not aware of any problems caused by the existing national rules on jurisdiction in such cases. I am aware that our view is shared by the governments of several other member states.

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice publishes responses to requests received under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, where information has been disclosed under the Act. Responses are published on a disclosure log on the Ministry of Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/global/foi-requests/latest-moj-disclosure-log.htm
	The Ministry of Justice does not record the average time taken to publish responses: the disclosure log is regularly updated with new content, usually on a monthly basis. Improvements are currently being made to the existing format of the disclosure log: from February of this year the content will be categorised by subject matter, making it more accessible.

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance his Department provides to other Government departments on how and when to publish responses to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice has issued guidance encouraging departments to publish information released in response to Freedom of Information requests through up to date online disclosure logs. There is no recommended format or time limit for publishing information on a disclosure log.

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has given consideration to requiring Government (a) departments and (b) agencies to publish their responses to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in a standardised and searchable format; and whether (i) he or (ii) the Public Sector Transparency Board has given consideration to publishing such responses centrally on the data.gov.uk website.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice encourages departments and agencies to publish information released in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests through the maintenance of up to date online disclosure logs. We support the Information Commissioner's recommendation that disclosure logs should be made readily available. The Government are not currently considering requiring departments and agencies to publish the responses to FOI requests in a particular format or at a particular location.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the letter of 24 November 2011 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms C McCall.

Kenneth Clarke: There was no record of this letter having been received. However, my office has now obtained a copy and the right hon. Member's letter has been transferred to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as the responsible Department for the subject matter, for answer.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to respond to the letter of (a) 26 October 2011 and (b) 28 November 2011 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay on the Traveller site at Dale Farm.

Kenneth Clarke: I have now replied.

Offenders: Mental Illness

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2012, Official Report, columns 667-8W, on offenders: mental illness, if he will provide a breakdown of those crimes committed in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: 90 restricted patients were reconvicted within two years of being discharged for the first time by the Mental Health Review Tribunal or with the consent of the Secretary of State between 1999 and 2007. The table gives details of their reconvictions.
	These figures are the latest available and are derived from the dataset used to produce paper 3.1 in the Compendium of Reoffending Statistics and Analysis, published on 4 November 2010.
	Offence details for offenders released in each year have been combined because in any single year the number of patients discharged for the first time and who went on to be reconvicted is small. Caution should be exercised when interpreting the reconviction figures provided, which represent only those patients first discharged and matched on the police national computer and therefore do not capture all patients discharged into the community in a given year or take into account recalls.
	
		
			 Reconvictions by restricted patients (1)  discharged for the first time by the Mental Health Review Tribunal or with the consent of the Secretary of State between 1999 and 2007 
			 Offence Number of offences 
			 Violence 13 
			 Of which:  
			 Manslaughter 1 
			 Attempted murder 1 
			 GBH 3 
			 ABH 3 
			 Racially aggravated common assault 1 
			 Possessing firearm or imitation firearm 1 
			 Possession of offensive weapon 2 
			 Having an article with a blade or point 1 
			 Sexual 3 
			 Of which:  
			 Rape of a female aged 16 or over 1 
			 Attempted rape of a female aged 16 or over 1 
			 Failure to notify police of home address under Sex Offenders Act 1997 1 
			 Burglary 23 
			 Robbery 12 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 25 
			 Of which:  
			 Shoplifting 12 
			 Stealing from motor vehicles 1 
			 Stealing from the person of another 2 
			 Stealing in a dwelling other than from automatic machines and meters 1 
			 Stealing not classified elsewhere 4 
			 Theft of motor vehicle 1 
			 Receiving stolen goods 4 
			 Fraud and forgery 4 
			 Criminal damage 5 
			 Drug offences 21 
			 Of which:  
			 Possession with intent to supply class A drug 2 
			 Possession of class A drug 6 
			 Possession of cannabis 11 
			 Possession of other class B drug 2 
			 Indictable motoring offences 1 
			 Other indictable offences 10 
			 Summary offences excluding motoring 53 
			 Summary motoring offences 31 
			 Offences outside England and Wales 1 
			 Breach offences 5 
			 Total 207 
			 (1) 90 restricted patients reconvicted within two years of being discharged.

Prisoners’ Release

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) men and (b) women given an indeterminate sentence for public protection were released in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Crispin Blunt: In 2010, 89 men and eight women serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) were released from prison establishments in England and Wales. Annual figures for 2011 are not yet available, however between 1 January and 30 September 2011, 187 men and eight women serving an IPP were released from prison establishments in England and Wales.
	These figures are published quarterly in the Offender Management Statistics quarterly brief, available on the Ministry of Justice website.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Death

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the Government plans to take to reduce the number of deaths in prisons.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service is committed to reducing the numbers of deaths in custody. Each death is subject to an investigation and, since 2004, these have been undertaken by the prisons and probation ombudsman. Strenuous efforts are made to learn from each death and improve our understanding and procedures for caring for prisoners.
	A new national Prison Service instruction is due to be issued imminently which brings together the three existing safer custody policies (covering suicide prevention and self harm management, violence reduction and follow up to deaths in custody) into one single overarching policy. The revised policy builds on several years of learning from the experience of prisoners, staff, investigators, inspectors and others.
	A three-tier Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody was set up in July 2008. The three tiers comprise a Ministerial Board, an Independent Advisory Panel (IAP) and a practitioner and stakeholder group, which supports the work of the IAP. The shared purpose of the board and the panel is to bring about a continued and sustained reduction in the number and rate of deaths in all forms of state custody in England and Wales by actively enabling cross-Government learning.

Prisons: Private Sector

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of changes to the budget of each privately-run prison in each of the next five years.

Crispin Blunt: Payments to the 12 prisons run by private-sector companies under contract to the Ministry of Justice are subject to a number of variables, including the number of prisoners held during the course of the year. It is not possible to forecast the effect of those factors over a five-year period.
	Spending review 2010 agreed MOJ's budget up to 2014-15, however, detailed allocations are done on an annual basis. NOMS are in the process of allocating 2012-13 budgets to individual prisons and will agree this before the start of the financial year. The privately run prisons are all subject to commercial contracts and any changes are subject to these contracts.

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was ordered to be confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since its enactment; and what proportion was collected in each of those years.

Crispin Blunt: Data for confiscation orders is only held from April 2005 and the results are in the following table.
	The table records the value of confiscation orders granted between 2005-06 and 2010-11, the amount remaining to collect and the amount recovered. A percentage figure records the amount collected against the confiscation orders imposed, during each financial year.
	
		
			  POCA confiscation orders granted (£) POCA confiscation order balance outstanding (£) POCA confiscation orders collected (£) Percentage collected of the confiscation order granted 
			 2005-06 36,457,284 6,698,257 29,759,027 82 
			 2006-07 64,614,075 17,173,264 47,440,811 73 
			 2007-08 134,980,670 70,761,955 64,218,715 48 
			 2008-09 132,708,218 63,520,784 69,187,434 52 
			 2009-10 126,258,634 60,273,951 65,984,683 52 
			 2010-11 194,028,523 116,881,709 77,146,814 40 
			 Total 689,047,404 335,309,920 353,737,484 51 
		
	
	The above figures were taken from the Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD) on 25 January 2012.

Public Sector: Procurement

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had on the inclusion of private sector companies in receipt of public sector contracts within the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Jonathan Djanogly: We have considered the extension of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to private companies in receipt of public sector contracts. We do not propose to extend the FOI Act to such companies at present, having struck a balance between our commitment to increasing transparency and that of reducing the regulatory burden on business.
	However, we consider that there is a strong argument for increased transparency for all bodies in receipt of public funds. The Government's “Open Data Consultation” sought views on the types of organisations to which an Open Data policy would apply. A summary of the responses has been published at:
	www.data.gov.uk
	The FOI Act is also subject to post-legislative scrutiny to see how it is working in practice. Further policy in this area will be developed in light of the evidence drawn from both sets of work.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what contribution his Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if he will make a statement.

Kenneth Clarke: The Compact sets out the relationship between the Government and civil society organisations, also known as the voluntary community and social enterprise sector. This is part of the framework of policies which support the big society.
	The Ministry of Justice is signed up to the Compact, as are other Government Departments. Policies within the Department seek to be compliant with the principles of the Compact. This includes, for example, the procurement policies used by the Department.
	Following the publication of the National Audit Office report on implementation of the Compact in Departments, the Ministry of Justice is considering what more could be done to improve the relationship with civil society organisations, and will reflect this in its updated business plan in the spring. The Department will also support action taken centrally by the Office for Civil Society to further embed the Compact.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff were employed by the Tribunals Service to deal with appeals against the work capability assessment in each month in 2011.

Jonathan Djanogly: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears appeals against department for work and pensions decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) (decisions in which the work capability assessment is a key factor) rather than appeals against work capability assessment decisions themselves.
	It is not possible to identify how many staff deal specifically with ESA appeals. The table shows the number of staff employed in relation to the social security and child support (SSCS) tribunal (the lowest level to which the figures can be broken down) as at the end of each month between January 2011 and November 2011 (the latest period for which published figures are available). The Tribunal hears appeals on a range of benefits, of which ESA is one.
	Of the 1,014 staff in post as at 30 November 2011, 814 were permanent staff and 200 staff were on fixed term contracts. HMCTS disposed of 35,400 SSCS appeals in October 2011 (the latest date for which published information is available), up 1,700 from 33,700 in January 2011.
	
		
			 Social security and child support tribunal staff numbers January 2011 to November 2011 
			  Number of staff (1) 
			 January 2011 958 
			 February 2011 958 
			 March 2011 984 
			 April 2011 1,013 
			 May 2011 1,029 
			 June 2011 1,030 
			 July 2011 1,045 
			 August 2011 1,061 
			 September 2011 1,074 
			 October 2011 1,019 
			 November 2011 1,014 
			 (1) These data are taken from management information. The figures quoted refer to the total number of people employed and includes those who work part-time or on a full-time basis and on temporary or fixed-term contacts. Some of the staff included may work in multi-jurisdictional centres dealing with other work as well as social security and child support appeals.

Youth Custody: Standards

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to apply national minimum standards and regulations for children's homes to (a) young offender institutions and (b) secure training centres.

Crispin Blunt: Young people placed in custody have a wide range of needs and these are met through the different accommodation and regimes provided in secure children's homes, secure training centres (STCs) and under-18 young offenders institutions (YOIs). Therefore the relevant standards and regulations for children's homes (which apply to both non-secure and secure children's homes) are not directly applicable to under-18 YOIs or STCs. There are no plans to apply children's homes regulations to other sectors. The regulatory framework of all three sectors is designed to ensure the safety and well-being of young people in custody.

EDUCATION

Academies: Admissions

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education in what circumstances he would agree a variation from the School Admissions Code in respect of admission arrangements for an academy; who he is required consult on any such variation; in accordance with which legislation such variation from the Code becomes part of the academy's funding agreement; and in respect of which academies such variations have already been agreed.

Nick Gibb: All academies are required by their funding agreements to comply with admissions legislation and the School Admissions Codes. The Secretary of State can agree different arrangements in individual academies and free schools but we do not expect to have many requests for him to do so. He would only agree to such requests in exceptional and limited circumstances, where it is clear that the change would benefit local children and the community.
	He has, for example, agreed that because of the accelerated timescale for the opening of UTCs, studio schools and free schools, there is no requirement for these schools to be within the local process for co-ordinating admissions in the first year of establishment. For future years they must be within local authority co-ordination.
	The Secretary of State is not required to consult about these requests; that duty lies with the academy or free school itself. He would, of course, take such consultation into account before reaching a decision.
	The previous Administration agreed variations from Code for the following academies when establishing them:
	Priory LSST academy in Lincolnshire;
	Birmingham Ormiston 'BRIT’ academy; and
	Belvedere academy, Liverpool.
	To date, this Government have agreed a variation for:
	Canary Wharf free school

Academies: Primary Education

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the evidence setting out the effects on attainment of converting primary schools into academies; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: There is growing international evidence on the benefits of autonomy in schools, particularly in the areas of curriculum, staffing and finance. It is this autonomy that the academies programme enables and which promotes improvements in standards.
	There is also strong evidence (including from London School of Economics, 2011, Public Accounts Committee, 2011, National Audit Office, 2010, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2008) of the benefits, in terms of raised standards, of secondary schools becoming academies. There is no reason why this intervention should not work as well if not better in primary schools as it does in secondary schools.
	We are committed to report to Parliament on the progress of all academies in the programme, including primary academies, in March 2012.

Adoption

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children under the age of one were adopted in each year from 1997 to 2011.

Tim Loughton: The numbers of looked after children aged under one who were adopted in each year from 1997 to 2011 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Looked after children who were adopted during the years ending 31 March aged under one year at adoption (1, 2) , years ending 31 March 1997 to 2011, England 
			  Number of children 
			 1997 140 
			 1998 150 
			 1999 190 
			 2000 190 
			 2001 200 
			 2002 200 
			 2003 220 
			 2004 220 
			 2005 210 
			 2006 200 
			 2007 150 
			 2008 110 
			 2009 80 
			 2010 70 
			 2011 60 
			 (1 )Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. (2 )Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. Source: SSDA 903 
		
	
	This information for years 2007 to 2011 is also contained in table E1 of the Statistical First Release (Outcomes for Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England, as at 31 March 2011) which was published on 28 September 2011 at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00196857/children-looked-after-by-las-in-england

Children: Mental Health Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many child (a) psychologists and (b) psychiatrists completed training in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The numbers of child psychologists and psychiatrists who completed training is not held centrally.

Children: Retail Trade

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to implement the recommendation of the Bailey Review to develop a code of good practice on retailing to children.

Sarah Teather: As with most of the recommendations that Reg Bailey made in his review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood, the recommendation to develop a code of good practice on retailing to children is directed to businesses and not to Government.
	The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and a number of its member companies developed voluntary guidelines on good practice in retailing children's clothes, which were launched on 6 June 2011. Companies supplying more than half the market in children's clothing are now signatories to the guidelines. The BRC will be reviewing the guidelines this spring to take account of any feedback received from parents and customers.
	We will continue to monitor progress on this and other recommendations in the Bailey Review, and there will be a full stock-take of progress by the end of the year. At that point we will consider what further measures may need to be taken to achieve the recommended outcomes, including considering statutory regulation if voluntary action has not been effective.

Children: Stop and Search

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to bring forward proposals to require a witness to be present when a child is searched.

Nick Gibb: Head teachers and school staff currently have a statutory power to search a pupil without consent (or his/her possessions) if they reasonably suspect he/she is carrying a knife or other weapon, alcohol, controlled drugs and stolen items ('prohibited items'). The person conducting the search must be the same sex as the pupil being searched and the search must be witnessed by a member of staff also the same sex as the pupil where practicable.
	Provisions in section 2 of the Education Act 2011 will permit teachers to search without consent pupils of the opposite sex and will also remove the requirement that the search of the pupil (or his/her possessions) is witnessed by another member of staff. These provisions will only apply where two important tests are satisfied. The first test is that the person carrying out the search must reasonably believe that there is a risk that serious harm will be caused to a person if the search is not carried out as a matter of urgency. The second test is that in the time available it is not reasonably practicable for the search to be carried out by a person of the same sex as the pupil, or in the presence of another member of staff.
	The Government propose to bring the new searching provisions into force from 1 April 2012.
	The powers to search without consent as described above and the provisions included in the Education Act 2011 apply to schools in England only. It is of course for the Members of the Welsh Assembly Government to consider whether they wish that these provisions should apply to schools in Wales.

Departmental Catering

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on food purchased through its food and catering services in the last 12 month period for which information is available.

Tim Loughton: The Department spend on food and beverages for official meetings during the financial year 2011/12 is not yet available.
	The Department spent £349,725.07 on food and beverages for official meetings during the financial year 2009/10 and £199,347.67 in 2010/11.

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was paid to officials in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies in (a) bonuses, (b) allowances and (c) other payments additional to basic salary in each of the last two years for which figures are available; what categories of payment may be made to officials in addition to basic salary; what the monetary value is of each category of payment; and what the monetary value was of the 20 largest such payments made in each of the last two years.

Tim Loughton: The Department was created in May 2010. We use a non-consolidated (not pensionable) amount of our pay bill (under 1.5%) each year to reward exceptional performance. The following table shows the amounts paid with respect to non consolidated performance related pay in each of the last two full financial years for the current Department and its predecessor, the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
	
		
			  2009/10 2010/11 
			  £ million Percentage £ million Percentage 
			 Non consolidated performance related pay 1.9 1.4 1.9 1.48 
		
	
	Individual performance related pay awards range from between £1,200 for administrative grades to £10,000 for senior management grades. These sums generally amount to less than 6% of salaries for staff below Grade 7, 4% for Grades 7 and 6, and 10% for the Senior Civil Service. The top 20 of these awards, which also form the top 20 highest allowances paid over each of the last two years, were £10,000 to £15,000 for 2009/10; and £8,000 to £10,000 for 2010/11.
	The Department pays a range of allowances to staff to enable delivery of departmental business and to recognise and retain specific skills. The Department spent £300,000 in each of the last two financial years (2009/10 and 2010/11) on these allowances. This includes payments to acknowledge staff who undertake temporary periods of additional duties and payments to enable recruitment for posts which are hard to fill, or require particular specialisms.
	The following table shows the Department's policy on each allowance:
	
		
			  Policy 
			 Temporary Duties Allowance 10% or the difference between salary and the pay band minima of the higher band. 
			 Supervisory Allowance 10% of basic pay when additional duties or responsibilities are given within the substantive grade. 
			 Recruitment or Retention addition EO and below up to £2,000 SEO and below up to £3,000 G6 and below up to £5,000 
		
	
	The Department makes a number of non cash payments to eligible staff, in the form of child care vouchers. These can be used by staff to pay for registered and approved child care and the value varies depending on the age of the child and location and ranges between £39 to £200 for staff out of London; £45 to £230 for London staff; and £90 to £460 for staff with children with special needs. The amount spent on these vouchers was £600,000 for 2009/10 and £460,000 for 2010/11.
	Information on the public servants employed in the Department's NDPBs is a matter for them and is not held centrally.

Departmental Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has agreed any contracts with (a) private hire vehicle and (b) taxi companies since May 2010.

Tim Loughton: The information is as follows:
	(a) Private Hire Vehicles
	The department entered into a framework agreement with Enterprise Rent-A-Car UK Ltd on 6 December 2010 in collaboration with Department for Works and Pensions and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
	(b) Taxi companies
	The department entered into a call-off agreement with Addison Lee from 23 August 2010 for taxi services in London. The call-off is under the terms and conditions of the DWP Collaborative Taxi Sourcing, Booking, Delivery and Management Framework.

Departmental Work Experience

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what work experience or traineeship schemes his Department offers to minority groups.

Tim Loughton: The Department takes part each year in the Cabinet Office Civil Service Summer Diversity Internship Programme for graduates from an ethnic minority or under-represented socio-economic background. Interns receive a weekly training allowance of £350 for those based in London or £300 outside of London.
	Work experience placements are offered over the summer (May to August) to mainly school-aged (year 10 and 11) children and some undergraduates. These are unpaid placements. Placements are not restricted to minority groups.
	In addition this year the Department will be offering a number of internships to minority groups through the cross-Civil Service Whitehall Internship Programmes, as outlined in the Government's Social Mobility Strategy published in April 2011.

Education: Assessments

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of schools using more than one examination board or awarding body for GCSEs; and what assessment he has made of how this has changed over time.

Nick Gibb: The Department has made no such estimate or assessment.

Extracurricular Activities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure all children have access to extended school provision.

Sarah Teather: Funding for extended services is included in the Dedicated Schools Grant, but it is for schools to decide what services they will offer based on the needs of their pupils.
	As part of their wider strategies to raise standards for the most disadvantaged pupils, schools may also wish to consider using some of their Pupil Premium funding on extended services.
	The Department has awarded grants to Children's University and ContinYou, over two years, 2011-13, to support the development of extra curricular and learning opportunities either side of the school day.

Extracurricular Activities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of children had access to one or more cultural school trips in the last year for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not hold this information centrally.
	The Government recognise the contribution that cultural school trips can make to engaging and supporting pupils' education. We believe that schools are in the best position to decide how this can best meet the needs of their pupils. This is not something on which we would want to ask schools to report centrally.

Free Schools

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps can be taken by local organisations and schools when an application to set up or become a free school or academy is opposed by a local authority.

Nick Gibb: For all free schools or schools becoming academies there is a statutory requirement to carry out a consultation. Local organisations and schools should contribute their views to this consultation, and are also free to write to Ministers or the Department for Education to express such views. All views, both positive and negative, will be taken into account before a funding agreement is signed.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of Roots of Empathy classroom practices as a means of promoting social and emotional learning.

Nick Gibb: The Department has no plans to make such an assessment
	As we said in the Schools White Paper The Importance of Teaching there needs to be room in the life of the school for an exploration of wider social issues which contribute to the well-being and engagement of all students. It should be for teachers, not government, to design the lessons and the experiences which will engage students.
	The Department's evidence-gathering phase of its review of Personal, Social, Health and Economics education closed on 30 November 2011. We are now analysing the contributions received, including national and international evidence, examples of best practice, and evidence based interventions that are proven to achieve the outcomes we want. The Department plans to consult on its proposals for the future of PSHE education later this year.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to reform the personal, social, health and economic curriculum to teach pupils about children from different cultural backgrounds.

Nick Gibb: The non-statutory programmes of study for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education include teaching about the diversity of ethnic and cultural groups. Pupils are taught to respect and appreciate the similarities as well as differences between people of different races, cultures and religions.
	The Department is currently reviewing PSHE education to determine how we can support schools to improve the quality of all PSHE teaching and support teachers to teach the subject well. We are considering submissions of evidence and good practice received as part of the review process. We will publish our proposals for public consultation later this year.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to encourage positive relationship education, including awareness of domestic violence and sexual exploitation.

Nick Gibb: Children and young people are taught about making positive relationships within the non-statutory subject of personal, social, health and economics (PSHE) education.
	The current PSHE programmes of study include teaching about having respect for others and understanding the nature and consequences of, teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviour. Schools must also have regard to the Secretary of State's statutory ‘Sex and Relationships Education Guidance’ which recommends that children should be taught about the nature of marriage and its importance for family life and for bringing up children. This includes learning about stable and loving relationships, respect, love and care.
	The Department is currently reviewing PSHE education to determine how we can support schools to improve the quality of all PSHE. The review will look at how the guidance on sex and relationship education can be simplified to strengthen the priority given to teaching about relationships and sexual consent. Encouraging teaching about sexual consent is part of the Government's action plan to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

Primary Education: Literacy

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what support his Department is giving to primary schools to develop pupils' literacy skills in years two to six.

Nick Gibb: We are determined to raise standards of literacy in schools in order to equip all children with the basic skills they need to succeed. We are promoting the teaching of reading through systematic synthetic phonics, in line with strong evidence on its particular benefits for children aged 5-7. This includes making match-funding of up to £3,000 available to all state-funded schools with key stage one pupils (up to year two), so that they can purchase approved systematic synthetic phonics products and training; introducing a phonics screening check for pupils at the end of year one; and improving initial teacher training in systematic synthetic phonics.
	The investment in reading in key stage one will have a positive impact on literacy skills in later years. In addition, our other reforms, including to Key Stage 2 assessment, and the future changes to the national curriculum, will all support improvements to literacy standards in primary schools.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have received support from the pupil premium for armed services' children in each local authority area; and what the overall cost of this policy has been.

Sarah Teather: The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 and allocations have so far been made for the 2011-12 financial year only. Pupil premium funding is provided in respect of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children in care who have been continuously looked after for at least six months and children whose parents are serving in the armed forces, known as service children.
	In England there were 5,170 schools with pupils on the January 2011 school census recorded as service children who qualified for the service premium.
	The total cost of this element of the premium for 2011-12 is £9,013,948, with schools receiving £200 in respect of each service child. This will increase to £250 in respect of each service child in 2012-13. The following table provides a breakdown of the number of schools in receipt of the service premium by local authority.
	
		
			 State-funded primary, secondary and special schools: Number of schools with pupils eligible for the service child premium in 2011-12 by local authority area in England 
			 Local authority Number of schools with pupils eligible for the service child premium (1) 
			 England 5,170 
			   
			 City of London 0 
			 Camden 2 
			 Greenwich 21 
			 Hackney 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2 
			 Islington 1 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6 
			 Lambeth 2 
			 Lewisham 2 
			 Southwark 1 
			 Tower Hamlets 3 
			 Wandsworth 6 
			 Westminster 7 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2 
			 Barnet 10 
			 Bexley 8 
			 Brent 1 
			 Bromley 3 
			 Croydon 6 
			 Ealing 0 
			 Enfield 5 
			 Haringey 2 
			 Harrow 5 
			 Havering 5 
			 Hillingdon 38 
			 Hounslow 3 
			 Kingston upon Thames 11 
			 Merton 6 
			 Newham 1 
			 Redbridge 3 
			 Richmond upon Thames 10 
			 Sutton 1 
			 Waltham Forest 1 
			 Birmingham 30 
			 Coventry 4 
			 Dudley 10 
			 Sandwell 4 
			 Solihull 10 
			 Walsall 7 
			 Wolverhampton 4 
			 Knowsley 5 
			 Liverpool 33 
			 St Helens 16 
			 Sefton 34 
			 Wirral 33 
			 Bolton 13 
			 Bury 6 
			 Manchester 11 
			 Oldham 9 
			 Rochdale 12 
			 Salford 6 
			 Stockport 17 
			 Tameside 6 
			 Trafford 1 
			 Wigan 24 
			 Barnsley 38 
			 Doncaster 27 
			 Rotherham 19 
			 Sheffield 16 
			 Bradford 9 
		
	
	
		
			 Calderdale 17 
			 Kirklees 40 
			 Leeds 33 
			 Wakefield 32 
			 Gateshead 9 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 18 
			 North Tyneside 39 
			 South Tyneside 12 
			 Sunderland 23 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 27 
			 Bristol, City of 11 
			 North Somerset 28 
			 South Gloucestershire 34 
			 Hartlepool 9 
			 Middlesbrough 19 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 25 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 35 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 16 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 37 
			 North East Lincolnshire 15 
			 North Lincolnshire 20 
			 North Yorkshire 149 
			 York 35 
			 Luton 2 
			 Bedford 8 
			 Central Bedfordshire 33 
			 Buckinghamshire 89 
			 Milton Keynes 10 
			 Derbyshire 94 
			 Derby 6 
			 Dorset 102 
			 Poole 29 
			 Bournemouth 13 
			 Durham 70 
			 Darlington 26 
			 East Sussex 14 
			 Brighton and Hove 0 
			 Hampshire 351 
			 Portsmouth 51 
			 Southampton 16 
			 Leicestershire 46 
			 Leicester 5 
			 Rutland 20 
			 Staffordshire 92 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 9 
			 Wiltshire 195 
			 Swindon 32 
			 Bracknell Forest 13 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 21 
			 West Berkshire 26 
			 Reading 3 
			 Slough 1 
			 Wokingham 20 
			 Cambridgeshire 98 
			 Peterborough 35 
			 Halton 4 
			 Warrington 12 
			 Devon 161 
			 Plymouth 80 
			 Torbay 21 
			 Essex 80 
			 Southend-on-Sea 5 
		
	
	
		
			 Thurrock 0 
			 Herefordshire 45 
			 Worcestershire 32 
			 Kent 112 
			 Medway 40 
			 Lancashire 94 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 7 
			 Blackpool 11 
			 Nottinghamshire 110 
			 Nottingham 9 
			 Shropshire 47 
			 Telford and Wrekin 46 
			 Cheshire East 17 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 35 
			 Cornwall 157 
			 Cumbria 22 
			 Gloucestershire 97 
			 Hertfordshire 49 
			 Isle of Wight 15 
			 Lincolnshire 231 
			 Norfolk 132 
			 Northamptonshire 30 
			 Northumberland 65 
			 Oxfordshire 129 
			 Somerset 149 
			 Suffolk 141 
			 Surrey 83 
			 Warwickshire 51 
			 West Sussex 60 
			 (1) Number of State-Funded Primary, State-Funded Secondary and Maintained Special Schools (including Academies and CTCs) with pupils recorded on roll as Service Children on the January 2011 School Census in year groups R-11 (where National Curriculum year groups do not apply pupils aged 4 to 15). For all those aged 5 and over includes sole or dual main registrations only. Source: School Census

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will ensure that local authorities receive an amount of local authority central spend equivalent grant to enable per pupil funding for schools which they maintain to be comparable to that in academy schools in their area.

Nick Gibb: The aim of the Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant (LACSEG) is to replicate for academies the expenditure being spent by their local authority on functions which become the responsibility of the academy on conversion. It follows that equivalent funding remains with local authorities to support the maintained schools in their areas. We have announced our intention to move to a nationally-based per pupil rate for LACSEG from 2013-14. This will ensure that local authorities and academies receive an equal per pupil amount for the services which they are responsible for providing. We will be consulting on the detail of these proposals later in 2012.

Schools: Budgeting

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to introduce a student council in all schools with council members able to participate in budgeting.

Nick Gibb: Most schools promote pupil participation through a schools council. The Government believe that schools should consider the views of pupils but that they should determine the most effective way to do this.
	The Government also believe that it is important for pupils to understand important financial principles, such as budgeting. Many schools provide financial education as part of Personal, Social, Health and Economics education, although many may want to give their pupils practical experience of budgeting through their role on the school council.
	Responsibility for the school budget of the school itself rests with the governing body, and students under 18 cannot be governors as they cannot take legal responsibility and therefore enter into financial commitments. Governing bodies are free to invite pupils to attend governing body meetings and to participate as associate members of the governing body. Those over 18 can speak and vote but they cannot vote on the budget and financial commitments of the governing body of their school.

Schools: Inspections

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what role the English baccalaureate criteria will play in Ofsted inspections.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to my hon. Friend, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Sir Michael Wilshaw, dated 26 January 2012
	Your recent Parliamentary Question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	Under the new framework for school inspections introduced in January 2012, inspectors make a judgement on: pupils' achievement; the quality of teaching; behaviour and safety of pupils, and the leadership and management of the school. These judgements are then taken into account, along with the school's promotion of the pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, as inspectors make their judgement on the school's overall effectiveness.
	In judging pupils' achievement in secondary schools, inspectors take account of both pupils' past attainment and progress, and the quality of learning and progress seen in the school on inspection. In considering past performance, inspectors evaluate previous years' results in GCSE and equivalent examinations compared to figures and indices which show the pupils' progress against progress measures which are benchmarked nationally.
	Pupils' attainment in the English baccalaureate is not one of the key measures that inspectors currently consider as a matter of course when assessing pupils' achievement under the new inspection framework. The English baccalaureate is not a statutory requirement for schools. Many schools currently do not enter all pupils for the requisite subjects so that performance in the English baccalaureate is more a reflection of individual schools' curriculum policies rather than a measure of pupils' attainment. However, if the school identifies performance in the English baccalaureate as an important part of its work, inspectors will take this into account in their evaluation of pupils' achievement.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses,

Schools: Sport

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve the provision of sport in schools in (a) Medway and (b) Kent.

Tim Loughton: Physical education (PE) is a compulsory subject in the national curriculum in England and will continue to be so. In its last report on PE (2008) Ofsted found an improving trend in standards, achievement, provision and leadership; with the quality of teaching being good or outstanding in two thirds of schools visited. Our education reforms will free up all schools to decide how best to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum, including the provision of sport in schools.
	The Government want to increase the amount of competitive sport in schools, and are making available £65 million for this purpose. This funding will cover the school years 2011/12 and 2012/13 and will pay for one day a week of a secondary PE teacher's time to be spent out of the classroom, encouraging greater take-up of competitive sport in local primary schools, and securing a fixture network for schools to increase the amount of intra- and inter- school sporting competition. In (a) Medway 22 secondary schools and in (b) Kent 146 secondary schools are eligible for the funding, and allocations of £7,600 per school have been made for the 2011/12 academic year.
	In addition the Government are creating more opportunities for competitive sport within and between schools, and at county, district and national levels through the School Games. This new sport competition, which is open to all schools, uses the inspiration of London's Olympics and culminates in National Finals in May 2012, some of which will take place in the Olympic Park.

Secondary Education: Gifted Children

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2012, Official Report, column 12W, on secondary education: gifted children, what statistics his Department maintains on the number and proportion of schools who identify pupils for the Gifted and Talented programme.

Nick Gibb: The Gifted and Talented (G and T) programme ended on 31 March 2010. The Department no longer maintains data on the programme.
	The G and T ‘flag’ which formed part of the annual school census from 2007 has been removed from the January 2012 census. There was no requirement for schools to use this ‘flag’ and it was for schools to decide what—if any—additional or more tailored support was appropriate for their G and T pupils.
	The last data that we hold is from the January 2011 school census. This shows that the
	number and proportion of schools which identified at least one G and T pupil was:
	15,045 (89.1%) for state-funded primary schools
	3,243 (98.0%) for state-funded secondary schools
	Although this particular ‘flag’ has been removed from the census, we are publishing much more data than ever before about the progress of high attaining pupils. The information in the recently published performance tables shows, for the first time, the progression of groups of pupils with different levels of attainment, so parents and others can see how children of different abilities are catered for.

Teachers: Pay

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average salary was of a teacher in (a) England, (b) Kent and (c) Dartford in the last year for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the average salary for full-time qualified teachers in service in publicly funded schools in England, Kent local authority and Dartford parliamentary constituency in November 2010, the latest information available.
	
		
			 Average salary of full-time qualified teachers (1)  in service in publicly funded schools. Year: November 2010. Coverage: England, Kent local authority and Dartford constituency 
			  Average salary (£) 
			 England 37,990 
			 Kent 37,100 
			 Dartford 37,960 
			 (1) Includes full time qualified leadership and classroom grades. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Source: School Workforce Census

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what contribution his Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: The Department for Education signed up to the renewed Compact published in December 2010, and recognises both the benefits and the importance of the Compact to its relationship with the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.
	Over the last year, the Department for Education has taken a number of actions to ensure the Compact is being implemented, including:
	Monitoring consultation lengths to ensure consultations with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) are 12 weeks where possible;
	Incorporating the Compact into its internal guidance on matters such as the Making Policy Framework, and its Compact compliant guidance for staff to consider when entering into a grant funded relationship with the VCSE sector;
	Monitoring departmental Compact compliance, via the number of complaints received about the implementation of the Compact;
	Participating in the NAO's review of the National Compact implementation;
	Respecting and upholding the independence of the VCSE sector to deliver their mission. Including their right to campaign, regardless of any relationship, financial or otherwise, which may exist.
	In 2012-13, the Department for Education will also include reporting on the Compact within its business plan to be published in spring 2012.

Work Experience

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure all 15 and 16-year-olds have access to two weeks' work experience each year.

Nick Gibb: Around 95% of students participate in work experience, amounting to over half a million placements each year for 14 to 16-year-olds. We believe that schools should be free to provide work experience placements that meet the needs of their pupils and their local communities, rather than a centrally-imposed requirement.
	Alison Wolf’s recent review of vocational education, available online at:
	https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00031-2011
	outlined the importance of high quality work experience placements as part of a coherent and well thought out 16-19 study programme. The Government remain committed to providing young people with high quality work experience and we are providing £4.5 million over the next two years for 25 further education colleges to pilot innovative new models for delivering work experience.
	We are also working with employers to review regulation and remove barriers that stop employers from offering work experience to young people.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether the Government Equalities Office publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government Equalities Office became part of the Home Office on 1 April 2011. I refer the hon. Member to my answer in response to parliamentary question 92117 on 30 January 2012, Official Report, columns 400-01W.